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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, October 2008, p. 3380-3383, Vol. 46, No. 10
0095-1137/08/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JCM.01007-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Eastman Dental Hospital, UCLH NHS Foundation Trust,1 UCL Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, 256 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8LD, United Kingdom,2 European Research Group on Periodontology, Bern, Switzerland3
Received 27 May 2008/ Returned for modification 1 July 2008/ Accepted 5 August 2008
This study used a nested multiplex PCR method to detect three periodontal pathogens in subgingival plaque collected before treatment and at 2 and 6 months posttreatment from 107 patients with severe, generalized periodontitis. The proportions of the patients who harbored these bacteria before periodontal treatment were as follows: Tannerella forsythia, 81%; Porphyromonas gingivalis, 78%; and Aggregatibacter (formerly Actinobacillus) actinomycetemcomitans, 47%. At 2 months posttreatment there was a significant reduction in the numbers of patients harboring P. gingivalis (46%; P < 0.001) or T. forsythia (63%; P = 0.043) but not A. actinomycetemcomitans (50%) compared to pretreatment data. At 6 months posttreatment, significantly fewer patients harbored P. gingivalis (43%; P < 0.001); A. actinomycetemcomitans, (31%; P = 0.025), or T. forsythia (63%; P = 0.030). Interestingly, at baseline and at 2 months posttherapy, subjects who harbored only a single pathogen had a greater level of periodontal disease than subjects who harbored two, or all three, of these periodontal pathogens. These data suggest that a reduction in the number of species present may be associated with an increase in the severity of periodontal diseases.
Published ahead of print on 13 August 2008.
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