A CORRELATION STUDY OF INFLAMMATORY CELL MOBILIZATION IN RESPONSE TO SUBGINGIVAL MICROBIAL COLONIZATION

THIS STUDY EVALUATED SITE-BY-SITE the relations between subgingival mi crobial colonization and gingival tissue reactions. Experimental, deep periodontal defects were established at buccal surfaces of mandibular and maxillary canine teeth in 5 beagle dogs. The root surfaces were i nstrumented by a flame-shaped, fine-grained, rotating diamond point, o r by a sharp curet. Following a 10-day postsurgical healing period, th e dogs were fed a plaque-inducing diet for 70 days. The animals were t hen sacrificed and tissue blocks of the experimental sites including t eeth and periodontal tissues were secured. The buccal gingiva was remo ved and processed for histomorphometric analysis while the teeth were prepared for scanning electron microscopic evaluation of the extent of subgingival microbial colonization. The results revealed that inflamm atory cell density in the junctional epithelium and in the connective tissue were positively correlated to subgingival microbial colonizatio n (P < 0.01). Furthermore, the degree of significance decreased with i ncreasing distance from the plaque. The present study demonstrates tha t a close relation may exist between the extent of subgingival microbi al colonization and inflammatory gingival tissue reactions.