Detection of Periodontal Pathogens in Oral Mucous Membranes of Edentulous Individuals

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the colonization of Campylobacter rectus, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (previously Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans), Prevotella intermedia, and Tannerella forsythia (previously T. forsythensis) in the tongue and cheek of newborns and elderly individuals with no teeth. Methods: Seventy-four edentulous subjects were included in this cross-sectional study. Microbiologic samples were taken from the dorsum of the tongue and cheek mucosa of all individuals and analyzed using a bacterial DNA-specific polymerase chain reaction. Results: C. rectus was the most prevalent species in both groups (20.9% in the cheek of newborns, and 77.4% in the tongue of elderly subjects). P. gingivalis and P. intermedia were not detected in any of the 43 newborns; however, P. gingivalis was recovered from the tongue and cheek (3.2%) of elderly individuals, whereas P. intermedia was detected in the tongue (9.6%) and cheek (3.2%) of elderly individuals. T. forsyth synthia was detected in newborns as well as elderly individuals, although the highest prevalence was observed in the tongue of newborns (6.9%) and elderly (9.6%) individuals. A. actinomycetemcomitans was not found in the tongue of newborns, but we observed A. actinomycetemcomitans in the cheek (2.3%) of newborns and in the tongue (12.9%) and cheek (6.4%) of elderly patients. Conclusions: Although we did not detect P. gingivalis and P. intermedia in newborns, periodontal pathogens could be detected from the oral mucous membranes of edentulous individuals. Our results suggest that major attention should be paid to edentulous individuals as an important measure in the prevention of the initial colonization of natural teeth and dental implants by periodontal pathogens. J Periodontol 2008; 79:7962-1965.