A Bacteriologic Survey of Gingival Scrapings From Periodontal Infections By Direct Examination, Guinea Pig Inoculation, and Anaerobic Cultivation

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Abstract
Darkfield examination of suspensions in broth of gingival scrapings from 136 cases of gingival and periodontal disease and of 10 normal subjects points to a similar distr. of micro-organisms throughout, with quantitative differences. The more characteristic fusospirochetal organisms (spirochetes, vibrios and fusiform bacilli) were found in much smaller numbers in normal mouths than in any of the pathological processes, in all of which they were prominent. Large numbers of these forms were found in a slightly higher proportion of cases in Vincent''s gingivitis than in periodonto-clasia or in marginal gingivitis. In periodontoclasia, and to a less degree in marginal gingivitis, organisms other than the fusospirochetal group (undifferentiated cocci, leptospiras, branched and unbranched filaments, and other types) were more commonly found or were found in larger numbers. The differences seemed too small to have diagnostic value. Subcut. inoculation of guinea pigs with gingival scrapings from 40 subjects with various gingival or periodontal diseases resulted in typical fusospirochetal infection in from 75-92% of trials. When these findings were combined with earlier data to give a total of 104 trials, the proportion of positive responses was found to be similar for the different clinical entities studied. The distr. of types in anaerobic cultures from 35 cases of gingival or periodontal disease, made either directly from gingival scrapings or from lesion exudates after guinea pig passage, was again similar for the different diseases. Certain micro-organisms obtained from gingival scrapings were not found in cultures from guinea pig exudates. These micro-organisms, Leptotrichia, Actinomyces, Veillonella, and an anaerobic Gram-negative thread form hitherto apparently undescribed, seem in consequence to be unessential to the pathogenic fusospirochetal complex. The data are considered to support the concept that a group of micro-organisms indigenous to the mouth proliferates under pathologic conditions and contributes to gingival and periodontal disease.

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