title: Polymerase chain reaction: relevance for oral pathology.
abstract: The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a recent innovation in biotechnology for amplifying specific nucleic acid sequences by use of repeated cycles of DNA synthesis. Application of PCR has been extended to a wide variety of biological and medical disciplines; fields of application include molecular genetics, pathology, microbiology, forensic medicine, and infectious diseases. Because of its speed and powerful sensitivity, PCR has become a highly valuable method for detecting small amounts of target nucleic acid sequence with the caveat that it has certain limitations. Importantly, false-positive reactions can result from the amplification of contaminating DNA whereas false-negative reactions can result from introduction of inadequate numbers of primer sequences. The application of PCR in the context of oral pathology is presented along with a discussion of the utility of this technique to aid in the elucidation of the etiology of oral disease.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Odontology and Stomatology, School of Dentistry, University of Florence and USL 10/D, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ficarra
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Eversole
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends
chemical_list: D004247:DNA