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Bacteroides forsythus in adult gingivitis and periodontitis

1987; Wiley; Volume: 2; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1399-302x.1987.tb00299.x

1399-302X

Chern‐Hsiung Lai, Max A. Listgarten, M Shirakawa, Jørgen Slots,

Streptococcal Infections and Treatments

Abstract Bacteroides forsythus , a newly named species from the human mouth, possesses a distinct cell wall ultrastructure and a unique set of cell surface antigens. To determine the distribution of B. forsythus in the periodontal region, supragingival plaque was collected from 16 healthy adults and from 11 adults with mild gingivitis, 12 with severe gingivitis and 17 with periodontitis. Subgingival samples from 27 diseased sites were examined as well. B. forsythus was located in plaque smears by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. Rabbit antibody to B. forsythus strain FDC 335 constituted the primary antibody and fluoresceinlabelled goat‐antirabbit antibody the secondary antibody. There was a significant difference (p<0.05) between the proportions of B. forsythus in supragingival samples of healthy subjects (0.2%) vs. individuals with mild gingivitis (1.3%), severe gingivitis (1.0%) and adult periodontitis (0.9%). A significant difference (p< 0.001) in B. forsythus proportions was also detected between supragingival (0.9%) and subgingival (15.3%) samples from adult periodontitis patients. In a separate study, patients previously treated for moderate to severe adult periodontitis were monitored over a 12‐month period for evidence of disease recurrence. A significant increase in the proportions of B. forsythus was found at sites with breakdown as compared to stable sites. Breakdown was defined as loss of attachment of 2 mm or more from base line, as measured from a reference stent, or a probing depth increase of 3 mm or more. These results support the assertion that B. forsythus is associated with advanced periodontitis as well as recurrent periodontitis. Monitoring the subgingival proportions of B. forsythus may be of diagnostic value in patients on maintenance therapy. Whether B. forsythus causes periodontal disease or is a secondary colonizer of periodontal lesions remains to be determined.