Periodontal microbiota of mobile and nonmobile teeth
The aim of this study was to compare the subgingival microflora in mobile and nonmobile teeth of 35 patients on supportive periodontal therapy (SPT) and 15 untreated adult periodontitis patients. After examination, single mobile and single nonmobile teeth with equivalent probing depth (PD) were identified. The study teeth were investigated for degree of mobility, gingival index (GI), PD, and bone height assessed by radiographs. Mobility was assessed using Miller's classification. Subgingival microbial samples were obtained from mobile and nonmobile teeth using paper points. These samples were cultured and examined for the following organisms: A.a., P. gingivalis, P. intermedius, B. forsythus, C. rectus, P. micros, Fusobacterium, E. corrodens, and Capnocytophaga. The patients on SPT and the untreated group had similar PD, 6-6.8 mm for the mobile teeth and 5.9-6.6 mm for nonmobile teeth. There was no significant difference between the GI in mobile and nonmobile teeth. Neither BOP nor bone levels showed a statistically significant difference. Basically, the same organisms were associated with mobile and nonmobile teeth. The most frequently recovered microorganisms were Fusobacterium, C. rectus, P. micros, P. gingivalis, and P. intermedius. C. rectus and P. micros were more prevalent in mobile than in nonmobile teeth. Also, C. rectus was more prevalent in SPT patients than P. micros in nontreated patients. P. gingivalis was detected two times greater in mobile teeth than in nonmobile teeth of untreated patients. The authors concluded that mobile teeth harbored significantly elevated proportions of some putative pathogens: C. rectus, 2.4% in mobile teeth vs. 1.1% in nonmobile teeth; P. micros, 13.5% vs. 8.2%; and P. gingivalis, 13% vs. 12.1%. [c.c.]
Grant, D., D. Grant, M. Flynn, and J. Slots, J Periodont, 66:386, 1995