The oral gram‐negative anaerobic microflora in young children: longitudinal changes from edentulous to dentate mouth

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Abstract
Eruption of primary teeth has a great influence on the oral environment by providing suitable niches for bacterial colonization. The composition of oral gram‐negative anaerobic microflora was investigated in 21 young children (mean age 32 months) with primary dentition. The bacterial findings of samples were compared with those of the same children collected at their edentulous infant period (mean age 3 months). During the primary dentition period, 2 samples were collected from each child: a sample with dental floss from gingival margin of 2 teeth and stimulated saliva pooled with a mucosal swab sample. Both samples were cultured aerobically and anaerobically using nonselective and selective media. Prevotell melaninogenica, nonpigmented Prevolella spp., Fusobacterium nucleatum group and Capnocytophaga spp. were found in all children at the older age, whereas they occurred in edentulous mouth in 76%, 62%, 67%. and 19%, respectively. The occurrence of Prevotella loescheii increased from 14% to 90%, Prevotella intermedia from 10% to 67%, Leptotrichia spp. from 24 to 71%, Campylobacter (Wolinella) spp. from 5 to 43% and Eikenella corrodens from 5 to 57%. Only the occurrence of Bacteroides gracilis and Veillonella spp. remained at about the same level. Species not isolated from the edentulous mouth, such as Prevotella denticola, Fusobacterium spp. other than the F. nucleatum group and Selenomonas spp. were now detected in 71%, 71% and 43% of the children. The stability of the colonizing P. melaninogenica strain(s) in the oral cavity was determined by using ribotyping; 1‐2 isolates per child from the edentulous infant period of 9 children and 3‐15 isolates per child from their primary dentition period were analyzed. The P. melaninogenica population proved to be intraindividually very heterogeneous, but one child had the same ribotype both in the infant and child period. Although a stable colonization seems to be possible already in the edentulous mouth, new species or strains colonizing oral surfaces create a multiform gram‐negative anaerobic microflora in young children with primary dentition.

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