MICROBIOLOGICAL FEATURES OF GINGIVITIS IN PUBERTAL CHILDREN

The subgingival microflora of 42 pubertal children (aged 12-15 years) and 18 young adults (aged 21-25 years) was investigated by anaerobic c ulture and phase contrast microscopy. Motile rods, spirochetes and Pre votella intermedia were elevated proportionately in pubertal children with gingivitis (median GI greater than or equal to 1); however, no st atistically significant differences in enumerated organisms on selecti ve media were observed between pubertal children and young adults. The se organisms were positively correlated with the index of bleeding on probing and the gingival index of pubertal children. Pubertal children were divided into 3 distinct subject clusters according to the simila rity of subgingival microbial features, and the subjects who were then selected for the gingivitis group were distributed into clusters 1 an d 2. The proportions of motile rods, P. intermedia and Eikenella corro dens were significantly higher in cluster 2 than in cluster 1. These r esults suggest that these 2 species and motile rods which differentiat ed features of clusters, are useful for screening of high-risk subject s for worsening of inflammation.