Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Bacteroides gingivalis and Bacteroides intermedius: predictors of attachment loss?

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The purpose of the present prospective study was to evaluate whether Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Bacteroides gingivalis and Bacteroides intermedius can be used to predict periodontal tissue destruction in sites with clinical signs of inflammation; 44 periodontal pockets in 30 adult patients were selected on the basis of (i) a probing depth of ≥6 mm and (ii) bleeding upon pocket probing. Assessments of oral hygiene and gingival conditions, probing pocket depths, probing attachment levels and bleeding upon probing were carried out at baseline and once every 3 months during a 1‐year period without periodontal treatment. Subgingival bacterial samples were collected from each site at baseline, at the 1‐year examination and at the intervening examinations if a site demonstrated ≥2 mm loss of probing attachment as compared with the baseline value. Following cultivation of the samples the proportions of A. actinomycetemcomitans, B. gingivalis and B. intermedius were determined in relation to the total viable count. The results demonstrated that at sites with an absence of A. actinomycetemcomitans and B. gingivalis or presence of less than 5%B. intermedius, no clinically significant loss of probing attachment (≥2 mm) occurred during the 1‐year observation period. In 25 sites where A. actinomycetemcomitans, B. gingivalis or ≥5%B. intermedius were present, only 5 showed loss of probing attachment of 2 mm or more. Thus, within the limitations of the study, it appeared that the absence of these “indicator” bacteria is a better predictor of no further loss of attachment than the presence of them for disease progression.

This publication has 23 references indexed in Scilit: