Periodontal microbiology in Latin America

Abstract

This review article describes the microbiota associated with periodontal disease in Latin America. This vast territory includes 22 nations, which show great ethnic diversity, with large groups of White people, Black people, Mestizo people and Native people. Widespread poverty and limited access to education and health-care services, including periodontal care, are prominent predisposing factors for destructive periodontal disease in Latin America. Black people and Mestizo people seem to have particularly severe periodontal disease and are frequently colonized by the major periodontal pathogens Porphyromonas gingivalis and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans. The 'red complex' bacterial pathogens and A. actinomycetemcomitans predominate in chronic and aggressive periodontitis, but gram-negative enteric rods and herpesviruses can also play important periodontopathic roles in Latin America. The key to minimizing the risk of periodontal disease is control of the pathogens, and new low-cost periodontal treatments deserve serious consideration in Latin America.

Full‐mouth disinfection effects on gingival fluid calprotectin, osteocalcin, and N‐telopeptide of Type I collagen in severe periodontitis

“…A. actinomycetemcomitans is a facultative anaerobic Gram‐negative bacterium, known with its strong virulence characteristics that cause periodontal tissue destruction 40,41 . Although A. actinomycetemcomitans was strongly associated with aggressive periodontitis, 40 several studies conducted on different population subgroups and ethnicities showed that A. actinomycetemcomitans occurrence was frequently detected in subgingival sites and/or subjects with chronic periodontitis 40,41 and decreased after non‐surgical periodontal therapy 12,13 .…”

Periodontal microbiota and microorganisms isolated from heart valves in patients undergoing valve replacement surgery in a clinic in Cali, Colombia

“…Se encuentran en todo el tubo digestivo, incluida la cavidad oral de pacientes con periodontitis (22)(23)(24), y su colonización posiblemente se facilita por el uso de antimicrobianos locales o sistémicos que alteran la microflora oral. Esto complica el tratamiento, ya que son muy resistentes a los antibióticos utilizados en el tratamiento convencional, además de propiciar las complicaciones sistémicas por su capacidad de entrar en el torrente sanguíneo y migrar a otros tejidos (41).…”

Concordancia interexaminador de hallazgos periodontales utilizando radiografía periapical convencional

“…La forma más prevalente es la periodontitis crónica, con hallazgos clínicos y radiográficos característicos que permiten diferenciarla de las demás formas de periodontitis 2 . En Colombia se estima que ~75 % de la población mayor de 35 años padece alguna forma de pérdida de inserción 3 , cuyo diagnóstico se basa en la valoración clínica y radiográfica de los tejidos periodontales 4 .…”