Table 2.
A summary in terms of the location where the dental biofilm was collected, the microorganisms detected, their shape and spatial organization within the biofilm, the most relevant interactions detected, and the microscopic technique used in each study. The abbreviations can be found at the bottom of the table.
| Authors (Year) | Site | Microorganisms | Shape and Spatial Organization of Microorganisms | Relevant Interactions | Microscopic Technique |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moter, A., et al. (1998) | SUBG | Group I of oral treponemes | Large and dense | These organisms are present in high proportions in subgingival plaque samples and thus represent the predominant flora. Group I treponemes outnumbered group II treponemes. All the treponemes identified predominated at diseased sites but were found infrequently at periodontally stable sites | Dark-field |
| Group II of oral treponemes | Thin, slender, wavily | ||||
| Wecke, J., et al. (2000) | SUBG | Group I of oral treponemes | Large and undulated | Treponemes appeared spread between Gram-negative bacteria in the deepest parts of the periodontal pockets. Gram-positive cocci were located on the most coronal section of the specimens | CLSM |
| Bacteria | Rods and coccoid | ||||
| Lepp, P.W., et al. (2004) | SUBG | Methanobrevibacter oralis | Diplococcobacilli | Treponemal rDNA was found in significantly lower abundance in sites with archaeal rDNA than in sites without archaeal rDNA | CLSM |
| Gmür, R., et al. (2004) | SUPG | Leptotrichia buccalis | Wide and segmented fusiform rods | There was a significantly increased total abundance of periodontal pathogens in the NUG group compared with the gingivitis group | Dark-field |
| Indistinguishable Fusobacterium nucleatum, Capnocytophaga sp., and Fusobacterium periodonticum | Smaller, thin, spindle-shaped, and dotted fusiform rods | ||||
| Gmür, R. and Lüthi-Schaller, H. (2007) | SUBG | Tannerella forsythia | Clumps | Tannerella forsythia was detected in the deepest zones of the periodontal pockets | Epifluorescence |
| Drescher, J., et al. (2010) | SUBG | Selenomonas sp. | Densely packed groups with a crescent-shaped structure from the cervical section to the biofilm portion derived from the pocket’s depth and both on the side facing the tooth and the side facing the soft tissue | These genera appeared spatially related and tangled with each other | Epifluorescence |
| Fusobacterium sp. | Densely groups with a fusiform shape | ||||
| Schlafer, S., et al. (2010) | SUBG | Filifactor alocis | (i) Short rod clustered in radial-orientated structures nearby fusiform bacteria on mushroom-shaped biofilms; (ii) Test-tube brush shapes; (iii) Branch-like structures in gingival tissue; (iv) Palisades structures nearby fusiform bacteria and eubacterial organisms | F. alocis was present in areas that corresponded to the depth of the pockets, but very occasionally in areas that corresponded to the cervical portion and the carrier’s very tip. F. alocis colonized the carrier side facing the soft tissue in most cases and was present in small numbers or not at all on the carrier side facing the root | Epifluorescence |
| Zjinge, V., et al. (2010) | SUBG-FL | Actinomyces sp | Rod-shaped | Display little fluorescence | Epifluorescence |
| SUBG-IL | Fusobacterium nucleatum | Fusiform cells | TL and a portion of the IL were mostly made of filamentous, rod-shaped, or even coccoid bacteria from the CFB-cluster | ||
| Tannerella forsythia | |||||
| Tannerella sp. | |||||
| CFB-cluster | Filamentous, rod-shaped, coccoid | ||||
| SUBG-TL | CFB-cluster | Filamentous, rod-shaped, coccoid, micro-colonies (Prevotella) | |||
| Synergistetes group A | Wide cigar-like bacteria in a palisade lining | ||||
| Parvimonas micra | Micro-colonies | ||||
| SUBG-OL | Treponemes | Test-tube brush shapes | CFB-cluster cells were found perpendicularly arranged around Lactobacillus sp. in test-tube brush shape. Test-tube brushes shapes were also found in a complex mixture of cells | ||
| CFB-cluster | |||||
| Lactobacillus sp. | Rod-shaped | ||||
| Porphyromonas gingivalis | Micro-colonies | ||||
| Porphyromonas endodontalis | |||||
| Tannerella forsythia | Test-tube brush shapes | ||||
| Campylobacter sp. | |||||
| Parvimonas micra | |||||
| Fusobacterium sp. | |||||
| Synergistetes group A | |||||
| SUPG-BL | Actinomyces sp. | Rod-shaped | Bacterial deposits made up of early colonizers, growing perpendicularly to the tooth surface | ||
| Actinomyces sp. + chains of cocci | Rod-shaped and coccoid | ||||
| Streptococcus sp. + yeast and not identified bacteria | Filamentous | ||||
| Streptococcus sp. + Lactobacillus sp. | |||||
| SUPG-SL | Streptococcus sp. | (i) Thin coat; (ii) Colonizing biofilm’s cracks; (iii) Without clear organization | Corncob structures consisting of Streptococcus sp. adhering to a central axis of yeast/hyphae cells | ||
| CFB-cluster | Heterogenous and without clear organization | ||||
| Lactobacillus sp. | Long string-shape | ||||
| Machado, F.C., et al. (2012) | SUBG | Prevotella intermedia | Patchy groups | P. intermedia was frequently found in the plaque of pregnant women | Epifluorescence |
| Mark Welch, J.L., et al. (2016) | SUPG | Corynebacterium sp. | Continuous filaments from the base to the periphery of the structure | Corynebacterium sp. filaments were crusted at their distal tips by brilliant cocci | CLSM |
| Streptococcus sp. | Coccoid | ||||
| Capnocytophaga sp. | Filamentous | Part of a multi-genus halo | |||
| Fusobacterium sp. | |||||
| Leptotrichia sp. | |||||
| Actinomyces sp. | Patchy groups | Observed in the base of the hedgehogs’ structures | |||
|
Haemophilus/ Aggregatibacter sp. |
Filamentous | Built a periphery of corncobs structures in addiction with Streptococcus sp. cells | |||
| Porphyromonas sp. | |||||
| Rothia sp. | Cells of at least four different taxa interact with one another at a micron scale | ||||
| Lautropia sp. | |||||
| Veilonella sp. | |||||
| Prevotella sp. | |||||
| Neisseria sp. |
CLSM: confocal laser scanning microscopy; CP: chronic periodontitis; GAP: generalized aggressive periodontitis; NUG: necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis; SUBG-FL: subgingival first layer; SUBG-IL: subgingival intermediate layer; SUBG-OL: subgingival outside layer; SUBG-TL: subgingival top layer; SUBG: subgingival; SUPG-BL: supragingival basal layer; SUPG-SL: supragingival second layer; SUPG: supragingival.