THE NATURAL-HISTORY OF PERIODONTAL-DISEASE - THE CORRELATION OF SELECTED MICROBIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS WITH DISEASE SEVERITY IN SRI-LANKAN TEAWORKERS

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of A. actinomyc etemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Prevotella intermedia, and their association with periodontal disease states in a population samp le from Sri Lanka. Based on clinical parameters, a total of 536 sites in 268 male Sri Lankan tea workers were categorized as healthy, or sho wing gingivitis only, moderate or advanced periodontitis. Bacterial sa mples were obtained from all sites and the three target bacteria ident ified by indirect immunofluorescence. P. intermedia, P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans were found in 76%, 40% and 15% of the subjec ts, respectively. Of the 536 periodontal sites, 10.5% were categorized with ''no disease'', 14% ''gingivitis only''; 59% with moderate and 1 6% with advanced periodontitis. The prevalence of P. gingivalis and P. intermedia was significantly higher in sites with moderate and advanc ed periodontitis than in sites with no disease or gingivitis only. A. actinomycetemcomitans was not found in healthy sites, but occurred wit h equal frequency in sites with gingivitis. moderate and advanced peri odontitis. The association between these three bacteria and periodonta l diseases in Sri Lankan tea laborers was similar to that described fo r other non-industrialized and industrialized countries.