Occurrence of periodontal pathogens among patients with chronic periodontitis

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the presence of the periodontal pathogens that form the red complex (Tannerella forsythia, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Treponema denticola) and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans in patients with chronic periodontitis. The sample consisted of 29 patients with a clinical and radiographic diagnosis of chronic periodontitis based on the criteria of the American Academy of Periodontology (3). Samples for microbiological analysis were collected from the four sites of greatest probing depth in each patient, totaling 116 samples. These samples were processed using conventional polymerase chain reaction, which achieved the following positive results: 46.6% for P. gingivalis, 41.4% for T. forsythia, 33.6% for T. denticola and 27.6% for A. actinomycetemcomitans. P. gingivalis and T. forsythia were more prevalent (p < 0.05) in periodontal pockets ≥ 8 mm. The combinations T. forsythia + P. gingivalis (23.2%) and T. forsythia + P. gingivalis + T. denticola (20.0%) were more frequent in sites with a probing depth ≥ 8 mm. Associations with the simultaneous presence of A. actinomycetemcomitans + P. gingivalis, A. actinomycetemcomitans + T. forsythia, P. gingivalis + T. forsythia and T. forsythia + T. denticola were statistically significant (p < 0.05). It was concluded that the red complex pathogens are related to chronic periodontitis, presenting a higher occurrence in deep periodontal pockets. Moreover, the simultaneous presence of these bacteria in deep sites suggests a symbiotic relationship between these virulent species, favoring, in this way, a further progression of periodontal disease.

Putative periodontal bacteria in clinically healthy and diseased sites of periodontitis patients

“…Also, Pd patients harbored higher proportion and/or counts than CG of the following bacteria: A. gerencseriae, S. sanguinis, C. sputigena, P. gingivalis, T. denticola, and T. socranskii. However, we observed that both healthy and diseased sites of Pd patients presented similar prevalence and counts of bacteria, contradicting findings of a former study which showed that levels of red complex bacteria seem to be related to Periodontitis severity 18 . It is important to note that this study only assessed deep sites 18 .…”

“…However, we observed that both healthy and diseased sites of Pd patients presented similar prevalence and counts of bacteria, contradicting findings of a former study which showed that levels of red complex bacteria seem to be related to Periodontitis severity 18 . It is important to note that this study only assessed deep sites 18 . Furthermore, Red complex can be detected in both supra-and subgingival samples as well as in healthy and diseased sites from periodontitis patients 7,8 .…”

“…Several studies have demonstrated the relationship between colonization of specific microorganisms and the presence and/or severity of periodontal disease. The bacteria involved in deep periodontal pockets are mainly of the red complex such as P. gingivalis, T. denticola and T. forsythia (formerly Bacteroides forsythus) 18 . Moore et al 19 observed, in patients with periodontal disease, species such as P. gingivalis, Eubacterium nodatum, Eubacterium timidum, Eubacterium Brachy, and Peptostreptococcus anaerobius.…”

Relative quantification ofPorphyromonas gingivalis,Treponema denticola,Tannerella forsythiaandAggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitanshigh-risk bacterial species in Romanian patients evaluated for periodontal disease

“…A study focused on adult Brazilians demonstrated the significant prevalence of P. gingivalis in deep pockets, but also of T. forsythia (Farias et al, 2012). The fact that we identified T. denticola as bearing the strongest correlation with maximum probing depth could be representing a local trait, as several studies indicated that periodontal pathogens' distribution and prevalence vary with geographic location (Tettamanti et al, 2017) and ethnicity (Gatto et al, 2014).…”

Relationship between herpesviruses and periodontal disease progression

“…Further, more needs to be done to identify the risk factors involved in disease progression, and how best to prevent disease progression. As practitioners target more precise therapies, it is important to realize that Pg, Td, and Tf are strongly associated with disease progression as documented by our findings and many others (Farias et al, 2012;Nomura et al, 2017;Teles et al, 2008); thus, these periodontal pathogens should be targeted for elimination, if progression of periodontitis is to be halted.…”