title: Oral microbiota in Swiss adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of different oral microbes in gingival plaque samples and in samples from the dorsum of the tongue in a Swiss adolescent population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety-nine adolescents between 15 and 18 years were enrolled. Plaque index, bleeding on probing (BOP), the periodontal screening index, and decayed missed filled tooth (DMFT) index were recorded. Samples from subgingival plaque and swabs from the tongue were analyzed by the Checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization method. Additionally, counts of Streptococus mutans and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, and Treponema denticola were determined by real-time PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Periodontitis was not diagnosed in any of the subjects but all of them presented signs of gingival inflammation displaying a mean BOP of 28%. Ten (10.1%) subjects were tested positive for P. gingivalis, each 22 (22.2%) for A. actinomycetemcomitans and T. forsythia, (47.5%) for T. denticola. T. denticola and S. mutans showed a high affinity to the gingival plaque, whereas T. forsythia was often detected from the dorsum of the tongue. DMFT was associated with S. mutans counts, and BOP correlated with counts of P. gingivalis and T. denticola.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present data indicate that: (a) gingivitis but not periodontitis is a common finding among Swiss adolescents, and (b) bacteria associated with periodontitis were frequently detected in the subgingival dental plaque and on the dorsum of the tongue in Swiss adolescents with gingivitis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although gingivitis was a frequent finding in Swiss adolescents, periodontitis was not detected in this population. The dorsum of the tongue appears to represent an important reservoir for periodontopathic bacteria.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Dental School, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 7, CH-3010, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Sigrun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eick
authors.forename: Malgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pietkiewicz
authors.forename: Anton
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sculean
mesh_terms: D000190:Actinomyces / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000293:Adolescent; D016976:Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans / Q000302:isolation & purification; D058491:Bacterial Load; D001439:Bacteroides / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002206:Capnocytophaga / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004245:DMF Index; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology*; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D005260:Female; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000382:microbiology; D016966:Porphyromonas gingivalis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012907:Smoking; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013557:Switzerland; D014059:Tongue / Q000382:microbiology*; D048373:Treponema denticola / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial