Skip to main content
PMC home page
Infection and Immunity logoLink to Infection and Immunity
. 1982 Dec;38(3):1137–1148. doi: 10.1128/iai.38.3.1137-1148.1982

Bacteriology of severe periodontitis in young adult humans.

W E Moore, L V Holdeman, R M Smibert, D E Hash, J A Burmeister, R R Ranney
PMCID: PMC347868  PMID: 7152665

Abstract

A total of 78 bacteriological samples were taken from the supragingival tooth surface after superficial cleaning with toothpicks or from the periodontal sulci of 42 affected sites in 21 adolescents or young adults with severe generalized periodontitis. Of 190 bacterial species, subspecies, or serotypes detected among 2,723 isolates, 11 species exceeded 1% of the subgingival flora and were most closely associated with the diseased sulci. Eleven others were also sufficiently frequent to be suspect agents of tissue destruction. Many of these species are known pathogens of other body sites. In addition, 10 species of Treponema were isolated. One of these and the "large treponeme" were also more closely associated with severe periodontitis than they were with healthy sites or gingivitis. There were highly significant differences between the composition of the flora of the affected sulci and the flora of (i) the adjacent supragingival tooth surface, (ii) the gingival crevice of periodontally healthy people, and (iii) sites with a gingival index score of 0 or 2 in experimental gingivitis studies. The floras of different individuals were also significantly different. There was no statistically detectable effect of sampling per se upon the composition of the flora of subsequent samples from the same sites. The composition of the supragingival flora of the patients with severe generalized periodontitis that had serum antibody to Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans was significantly different from the supragingival flora of patients without this serum antibody. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the composition of their subgingival floras.

Full text

PDF
1148

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Cromartie W. J., Craddock J. G., Schwab J. H., Anderle S. K., Yang C. H. Arthritis in rats after systemic injection of streptococcal cells or cell walls. J Exp Med. 1977 Dec 1;146(6):1585–1602. doi: 10.1084/jem.146.6.1585. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Hunter N., Schwab J. H., Simpson D. M. Experimental periodontitis induced in rats by streptococcal cell wall fragments. J Periodontal Res. 1979 Nov;14(6):453–466. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0765.1979.tb00245.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Lavine W. S., Maderazo E. G., Stolman J., Ward P. A., Cogen R. B., Greenblatt I., Robertson P. B. Impaired neutrophil chemotaxis in patients with juvenile and rapidly progressing periodontitis. J Periodontal Res. 1979 Jan;14(1):10–19. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0765.1979.tb00213.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Mandell R. L., Socransky S. S. A selective medium for Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and the incidence of the organism in juvenile periodontitis. J Periodontol. 1981 Oct;52(10):593–598. doi: 10.1902/jop.1981.52.10.593. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Moore W. E., Hash D. E., Holdeman L. V., Cato E. P. Polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis of soluble proteins for studies of bacterial floras. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1980 Apr;39(4):900–907. doi: 10.1128/aem.39.4.900-907.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Moore W. E., Holdeman L. V., Smibert R. M., Good I. J., Burmeister J. A., Palcanis K. G., Ranney R. R. Bacteriology of experimental gingivitis in young adult humans. Infect Immun. 1982 Nov;38(2):651–667. doi: 10.1128/iai.38.2.651-667.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Ranney R. R., Ruddy S., Tew J. G., Welshimer H. J., Palcanis K. G., Segreti A. Immunological studies of young adults with severe periodontitis. I. Medical evaluation and humoral factors. J Periodontal Res. 1981 Jul;16(4):390–402. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0765.1981.tb00990.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Ranney R. R., Yanni N. R., Burmeister J. A., Tew J. G. Relationship between attachment loss and precipitating serum antibody to Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans in adolescents and young adults having severe periodontal destruction. J Periodontol. 1982 Jan;53(1):1–7. doi: 10.1902/jop.1982.53.1.1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Rochford J. C. Pleuropulmonary infection associated with Eubacterium brachy, a new species of Eubacterium. J Clin Microbiol. 1980 Nov;12(5):722–723. doi: 10.1128/jcm.12.5.722-723.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Slots J. The predominant cultivable microflora of advanced periodontitis. Scand J Dent Res. 1977 Jan-Feb;85(2):114–121. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0722.1977.tb00541.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Smith S., Bick P. H., Miller G. A., Ranney R. R., Rice P. L., Lalor J. H., Tew J. G. Polyclonal B-cell activation: severe periodontal disease in young adults. Clin Immunol Immunopathol. 1980 Jul;16(3):354–366. doi: 10.1016/0090-1229(80)90141-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Tanner A. C., Haffer C., Bratthall G. T., Visconti R. A., Socransky S. S. A study of the bacteria associated with advancing periodontitis in man. J Clin Periodontol. 1979 Oct;6(5):278–307. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-051x.1979.tb01931.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Tew J. G., Miller G. A., Greene E. J., Rice P. L., Jordan W. P., Palcanis K. G., Ranney R. R. Immunological studies of young adults with severe periodontitis. II. Cellular factors. J Periodontal Res. 1981 Jul;16(4):403–416. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0765.1981.tb00991.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Infection and Immunity are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES