title: The predominant cultivable microbial population of adult periodontitis.
abstract: An extensive characterization of the cultivable microbial population, present in gingival pockets of a selected group of eight patients with periodontal disease, has been performed. The result obtained, from samples collected from six different periodontal sites in each patient, indicate a great prevalence of anaerobic bacteria. It is likely that the presence inside the gingival pockets of anaerobic cocci, to which the rods are capable of a selective coaggregation mechanism, creates conditions favorable to the proliferation of the latter type of bacteria. These findings suggest that the evolution of adult periodontitis is based on a chronic inflammatory stimulus and the necrosis of gingival epithelium caused by the proliferation of the anaerobic rods.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005881:Gingiva / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000382:microbiology*