SALIVARY LEVELS OF SUSPECTED PERIODONTAL PATHOGENS IN RELATION TO PERIODONTAL STATUS AND TREATMENT

The primary ecological niche for suspected periodontal pathogens seems to be the subgingival area, even though periodontal pathogens are als o frequently recovered from saliva. The interrelationship of different periodontal conditions and the salivary levels of suspected periodont al pathogens is not known. In the present study, salivary levels of Ac tinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotel la intermedia, Campylobacter rectus, and Peptostreptococcus micros wer e determined by bacterial culture and related to clinical periodontal status in 40 subjects with either advanced, moderate, or initial/no pe riodontitis. Culture-positive subjects harbored the 5 bacterial specie s in mean numbers ranging from 2 x 10(5) to 6 x 10(7) colony-forming u nits (CFU)/mL saliva. A. actinomycetemcomitans was found in none and P . gingivalis in one of the subjects with initial periodontitis, wherea s both species were found in 33% and 44%, respectively, of the subject s with moderate periodontitis and in 60% and 40%, respectively, of the subjects with advanced periodontitis. The mean numbers of CFU/mL of P . intermedia, C. rectus and P. micros were significantly higher in sub jects with advanced periodontitis than in subjects with initial/no per iodontitis. Ten patients with advanced periodontitis were treated mech anically and with adjunctive systemic metronidazole, and were re-exami ned 1 and 6 months after treatment. Periodontal treatment eradicated o r significantly reduced the levels of salivary periodontal pathogens f or half a year, whereas in untreated subjects, the levels and the dete ction frequencies generally remained fairly stable. In conclusion, the results showed that the salivary levels of periodontal pathogens refl ect the periodontal status of the patient.