title: Environmental influences on the progression of clinical and microbiological parameters of sheep periodontal disease.
abstract: The responses of some clinical and microbiological parameters of periodontal disease (PD) in sheep were examined subsequent to transferring animals between PD-affected and PD-free farms. Previously healthy animals showed transient deterioration in some clinical, but not microbiological parameters, which suggests either that a different microbiota to the one studied may be more important in the initiation of the disease, or that sampling did not intercept periods of destructive disease activity in the early lesions. In sheep with established disease, those parameters indicative of periodontitis which included pocket depth and bleeding on probing as well as the proportions of black-pigmented Bacteroides species were not significantly altered by environmental changes. This observation suggests that once the disease is established on PD-affected farms, the hand, some clinical signs of the disease including lengthening and mobility of incisor teeth increased in sheep on the PD-affected farm relative to the PD-free farm. This suggests that the disease may have a complex aetiology.
authors: Department of Periodontology, University of Otago, New Zealand.
authors: K W
authors: KW
authors: Frisken
authors: A J
authors: AJ
authors: Laws
authors: J R
authors: JR
authors: Tagg
authors: M B
authors: MB
authors: Orr
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001439:Bacteroides / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007180:Incisor / Q000473:pathology; D006472:Oral Hemorrhage / Q000662:veterinary; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000662:veterinary*; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D014086:Tooth Mobility