title: Microbial profile of patients with periodontitis compared with healthy subjects.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To define and compare the microbiologic profile of subgingival plaque in German patients with periodontitis (including aggressive and advanced chronic periodontitis) and healthy subjects and to determine significant association between isolates and clinical status. Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Tannerella forsythia are major periodontal pathogens, though it is recognized that other species may also contribute to the pathogenesis of periodontal disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-three patients with clinical and radiologic proof of aggressive and advanced chronic periodontitis and 20 healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. Clinical indices were recorded as six-point measurements on each tooth. Samples of the subgingival plaque were taken with paper points from four teeth of each individual. The samples were divided into two parts. One part was immediately cultivated, while the other one was stored at -20°C until analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 284 anaerobic isolates (224 isolates from patients and 60 isolates from healthy controls) were identified. Forty different anaerobic species were isolated, with a mean of 6.78 species per patient and 3 species per healthy control subject. Significant differences in prevalence (after adjusting for multiple comparisons, P < .001) were found for Prevotella intermedia and nigrescens, Fusobacterium nucleatum, T forsythia, Treponema denticola, and Veillonella parvula. The first four species were associated with the aggressive periodontitis group and V parvula with healthy subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  When compared with healthy controls, the microbial profile of subgingival plaque from periodontitis was found to contain known periodontal pathogens with a different prevalence to that described in earlier studies. P intermedia/nigrescens, F nucleatum, T forsythia, and T denticola have been found in lower proportions and small quantities in healthy subjects.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Microbiology and Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases, University of Leipzig, Germany. CatalinaSuzana.Stingu@medizin.uni-leipzig.de
authors.forename: Catalina Suzana
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Stingu
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jentsch
authors.forename: Sigrun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eick
authors.forename: Reiner
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schaumann
authors.forename: Gerhild
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Knöfler
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodloff
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016976:Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010520:Aggressive Periodontitis / Q000145:classification / Q000382:microbiology*; D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000145:classification*; D058491:Bacterial Load; D001439:Bacteroides / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D055113:Chronic Periodontitis / Q000145:classification / Q000382:microbiology*; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology*; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D005260:Female; D016967:Fusobacterium nucleatum / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005884:Gingival Hemorrhage / Q000145:classification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009911:Oral Hygiene Index; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000145:classification; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000145:classification; D016966:Porphyromonas gingivalis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018713:Prevotella intermedia / Q000302:isolation & purification; D045242:Prevotella nigrescens / Q000302:isolation & purification; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D048373:Treponema denticola / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014678:Veillonella / Q000302:isolation & purification