Distribution of 10 periodontal bacterial species in children and adolescents over a 7-year period.
OBJECTIVE
There is scant information available regarding the distribution of periodontal bacterial species in children and adolescents over an extended period. The purpose of this study was to compare bacterial profiles in the same individuals over a period of 7 years.


METHODS
Twenty-six children and adolescents from whom dental plaque and saliva specimens were obtained during both the first (1999-2000) and second (2006-2007) periods, were analyzed. Bacterial DNA was extracted from each specimen and the presence of 10 periodontal bacterial species was determined using a PCR method, with a focus on the red complex species of Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, and Tannerella forsythia.


RESULTS
Subjects with red complex species in saliva specimens obtained during the second collection possessed a significantly higher number of total bacterial species than those without. The detection rate of the red complex species in the second collection period samples was significantly greater in subjects who had two or more species detected in samples taken during the first collection compared with the other subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
Subjects possessing red complex species may be at possible risk for infection with a high number of periodontal bacterial species during adolescent and younger adult years.
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Osaka, Japan.
K
K
Nakano
E
E
Miyamoto
K
K
Tamura
H
H
Nemoto
K
K
Fujita
R
R
Nomura
T
T
Ooshima
D000293:Adolescent; D001420:Bacteria, Aerobic / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002353:Carrier State; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D010512:Periodontal Index; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012463:Saliva / Q000382:microbiology*
D004269:DNA, Bacterial