ORAL FOOD-CONSUMPTION AND SUBGINGIVAL MICROORGANISMS - SUBGINGIVAL MICROBIOTA OF GASTROSTOMY TUBE-FED CHILDREN AND HEALTHY CONTROLS

THIS STUDY EXAMINED THE EFFECT Of Oral food consumption on the prevale nce and levels of subgingival bacteria and yeasts in 20 gastrostomy tu be-fed children and 24 healthy controls. Microbial identification was carried out using anaerobic culture and 16S rRNA-based PCR identificat ion methods. Streptococcal and Actinomyces species were recovered from 100% and 76% of all subjects and averaged 66% and 11% of total cultiv able organisms, respectively. In decreasing order of prevalence, Fusob acterium, enteric rods, Prevotella intermedia/Prevotella nigrescens, C apnocytophaga, Propionibacterium, yeasts, Actinobacillus actinomycetem comitans, coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, Campylobacter rectus, Bac teroides forsythus, and Porphyromonas gingivalis were detected in 48% to 2% of the study subjects. The cultivable levels of these species va ried widely among subjects. PCR detection showed C. rectus and Eikenel la corrodens both to occur in 93% of the study subjects and to be the most prevalent putative periodontal pathogens examined. In decreasing order of prevalence, PCR identified Treponema denticola, A. actinomyce temcomitans, P. nigrescens, P. intermedia, B. forsythus, and P. gingiv alis in 38% to 21% of the subjects studied. Tube-fed children and heal thy controls exhibited similar subgingival microbial compositions. It appears from this study that oral food consumption is not a major dete rminant for the establishment of subgingival microbiota in children.