Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Oral microbiota in Swiss adolescents

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Clinical Oral Investigations Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives

The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of different oral microbes in gingival plaque samples and in samples from the dorsum of the tongue in a Swiss adolescent population.

Materials and methods

Ninety-nine adolescents between 15 and 18 years were enrolled. Plaque index, bleeding on probing (BOP), the periodontal screening index, and decayed missed filled tooth (DMFT) index were recorded. Samples from subgingival plaque and swabs from the tongue were analyzed by the Checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization method. Additionally, counts of Streptococus mutans and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, and Treponema denticola were determined by real-time PCR.

Results

Periodontitis was not diagnosed in any of the subjects but all of them presented signs of gingival inflammation displaying a mean BOP of 28%. Ten (10.1%) subjects were tested positive for P. gingivalis, each 22 (22.2%) for A. actinomycetemcomitans and T. forsythia, (47.5%) for T. denticola. T. denticola and S. mutans showed a high affinity to the gingival plaque, whereas T. forsythia was often detected from the dorsum of the tongue. DMFT was associated with S. mutans counts, and BOP correlated with counts of P. gingivalis and T. denticola.

Conclusions

The present data indicate that: (a) gingivitis but not periodontitis is a common finding among Swiss adolescents, and (b) bacteria associated with periodontitis were frequently detected in the subgingival dental plaque and on the dorsum of the tongue in Swiss adolescents with gingivitis.

Clinical relevance

Although gingivitis was a frequent finding in Swiss adolescents, periodontitis was not detected in this population. The dorsum of the tongue appears to represent an important reservoir for periodontopathic bacteria.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Holt SC, Ebersole JL (2005) Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, and Tannerella forsythia: the “red complex”, a prototype polybacterial pathogenic consortium in periodontitis. Periodontol 2000 38:72–122

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. (1996) Consensus report. Periodontal diseases: pathogenesis and microbial factors. Ann Periodontol 1:926-32

  3. Meng S, Zhao L, Yang H, Wu Y, Ouyang Y (2009) Prevalence of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans in Chinese chronic periodontitis patients and periodontally healthy adults. Quintessence Int 40:53–60

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Iwano Y, Sugano N, Matsumoto K, Nishihara R, Iizuka T, Yoshinuma N, Ito K (2010) Salivary microbial levels in relation to periodontal status and caries development. J Periodontal Res 45:165–169

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Cortelli JR, Aquino DR, Cortelli SC, Fernandes CB, de Carvalho-Filho J, Franco GC, Costa FO, Kawai T (2008) Etiological analysis of initial colonization of periodontal pathogens in oral cavity. J Clin Microbiol 46:1322–1329

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Kulekci G, Leblebicioglu B, Keskin F, Ciftci S, Badur S (2008) Salivary detection of periodontopathic bacteria in periodontally healthy children. Anaerobe 14:49–54

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Tanner AC, Milgrom PM, Kent R Jr, Mokeem SA, Page RC, Riedy CA, Weinstein P, Bruss J (2002) The microbiota of young children from tooth and tongue samples. J Dent Res 81:53–57

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Papaioannou W, Gizani S, Haffajee AD, Quirynen M, Mamai-Homata E, Papagiannoulis L (2009) The microbiota on different oral surfaces in healthy children. Oral Microbiol Immunol 24:183–189

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Ashley FP, Gallagher J, Wilson RF (1988) The occurrence of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Bacteroides gingivalis, Bacteroides intermedius and spirochaetes in the subgingival microflora of adolescents and their relationship with the amount of supragingival plaque and gingivitis. Oral Microbiol Immunol 3:77–82

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Asikainen S, Alaluusua S, Kari K, Kleemola-Kujala E (1986) Subgingival microflora and periodontal conditions in healthy teenagers. J Periodontol 57:505–509

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Mombelli A, Rutar A, Lang NP (1995) Correlation of the periodontal status 6 years after puberty with clinical and microbiological conditions during puberty. J Clin Periodontol 22:300–305

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Cutress TW, Hunter PB, Beck DJ, de Souza P (1978) A comparison of WHO periodontal status index with the periodontal and oral hygiene indices. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 6:245–252

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. O’Leary TJ, Drake RB, Naylor JE (1972) The plaque control record. J Periodontol 43:38

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Beikler T, Schnitzer S, Abdeen G, Ehmke B, Eisenacher M, Flemmig TF (2006) Sampling strategy for intraoral detection of periodontal pathogens before and following periodontal therapy. J Periodontol 77:1323–1332

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Socransky SS, Smith C, Martin L, Paster BJ, Dewhirst FE, Levin AE (1994) “Checkerboard” DNA-DNA hybridization. Biotechniques 17:788–792

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Haffajee AD, Cugini MA, Dibart S, Smith C, Kent RL Jr, Socransky SS (1997) The effect of SRP on the clinical and microbiological parameters of periodontal diseases. J Clin Periodontol 24:324–334

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Yang JL, Wang MS, Cheng AC, Pan KC, Li CF, Deng SX (2008) A simple and rapid method for extracting bacterial DNA from intestinal microflora for ERIC-PCR detection. World J Gastroenterol 14:2872–2876

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Ximenez-Fyvie LA, Haffajee AD, Socransky SS (2000) Microbial composition of supra- and subgingival plaque in subjects with adult periodontitis. J Clin Periodontol 27:722–732

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Socransky SS, Haffajee AD, Smith C, Martin L, Haffajee JA, Uzel NG, Goodson JM (2004) Use of checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization to study complex microbial ecosystems. Oral Microbiol Immunol 19:352–362

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Eick S, Straube A, Guentsch A, Pfister W, Jentsch H (2011) Comparison of real-time polymerase chain reaction and DNA-strip technology in microbiological evaluation of periodontitis treatment. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 69:12–20

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Yoshida A, Suzuki N, Nakano Y, Kawada M, Oho T, Koga T (2003) Development of a 5′ nuclease-based real-time PCR assay for quantitative detection of cariogenic dental pathogens Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus. J Clin Microbiol 41:4438–4441

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Slots J, Reynolds HS, Genco RJ (1980) Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans in human periodontal disease: a cross-sectional microbiological investigation. Infect Immun 29:1013–1020

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Umeda M, Miwa Z, Takeuchi Y, Ishizuka M, Huang Y, Noguchi K, Tanaka M, Takagi Y, Ishikawa I (2004) The distribution of periodontopathic bacteria among Japanese children and their parents. J Periodontal Res 39:398–404

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Dahlen G, Konradsson K, Eriksson S, Teanpaisan R, Piwat S, Carlen A (2010) A microbiological study in relation to the presence of caries and calculus. Acta Odontol Scand 68:199–206

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Lamell CW, Griffen AL, McClellan DL, Leys EJ (2000) Acquisition and colonization stability of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas gingivalis in children. J Clin Microbiol 38:1196–1199

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Socransky SS, Haffajee AD, Smith C, Dibart S (1991) Relation of counts of microbial species to clinical status at the sampled site. J Clin Periodontol 18:766–775

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Jentsch H, Cachovan G, Guentsch A, Eickholz P, Pfister W, Eick S (2012) Characterization of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans strains in periodontitis patients in Germany. Clin Oral Investig. 2012 Jan 14. [Epub ahead of print]

  28. Kim TS, Frank P, Eickholz P, Eick S, Kim CK (2009) Serotypes of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans in patients with different ethnic backgrounds. J Periodontol 80:2020–2027

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Sirinian G, Shimizu T, Sugar C, Slots J, Chen C (2002) Periodontopathic bacteria in young healthy subjects of different ethnic backgrounds in Los Angeles. J Periodontol 73:283–288

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Bimstein E, Sapir S, Houri-Haddad Y, Dibart S, Van Dyke TE, Shapira L (2004) The relationship between Porphyromonas gingivalis infection and local and systemic factors in children. J Periodontol 75:1371–1376

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Van Assche N, Van Essche M, Pauwels M, Teughels W, Quirynen M (2009) Do periodontopathogens disappear after full-mouth tooth extraction? J Clin Periodontol 36:1043–1047

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Quirynen M, Avontroodt P, Soers C, Zhao H, Pauwels M, van Steenberghe D (2004) Impact of tongue cleansers on microbial load and taste. J Clin Periodontol 31:506–510

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Tanaka M, Yamamoto Y, Kuboniwa M, Nonaka A, Nishida N, Maeda K, Kataoka K, Nagata H, Shizukuishi S (2004) Contribution of periodontal pathogens on tongue dorsa analyzed with real-time PCR to oral malodor. Microbes Infect 6:1078–1083

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Yasukawa T, Ohmori M, Sato S (2010) The relationship between physiologic halitosis and periodontopathic bacteria of the tongue and gingival sulcus. Odontology 98:44–51

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Kanli A, Kanbur NO, Dural S, Derman O (2008) Effects of oral health behaviors and socioeconomic factors on a group of Turkish adolescents. Quintessence Int 39:e26–e32

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Hermann P, Gera I, Borbely J, Fejerdy P, Madlena M (2009) Periodontal health of an adult population in Hungary: findings of a national survey. J Clin Periodontol 36:449–457

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Apatzidou DA, Riggio MP, Kinane DF (2005) Impact of smoking on the clinical, microbiological and immunological parameters of adult patients with periodontitis. J Clin Periodontol 32:973–983

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Van der Velden U, Varoufaki A, Hutter JW, Xu L, Timmerman MF, Van Winkelhoff AJ, Loos BG (2003) Effect of smoking and periodontal treatment on the subgingival microflora. J Clin Periodontol 30:603–610

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Malmö, University (2011) http://www.mah.se/CAPP/Country-Oral-Health-Profiles/EURO/#5

  40. Marthaler TM (2004) Changes in dental caries 1953-2003. Caries Res 38:173–181

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Schiffner U, Hoffmann T, Kerschbaum T, Micheelis W (2009) Oral health in German children, adolescents, adults and senior citizens in 2005. Community Dent Health 26:18–22

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Campus G, Cagetti MG, Senna A, Spano G, Benedicenti S, Sacco G (2009) Differences in oral health among Italian adolescents related to the type of secondary school attended. Oral Health Prev Dent 7:323–330

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Ericsson JS, Abrahamsson KH, Ostberg AL, Hellstrom MK, Jonsson K, Wennstrom JL (2009) Periodontal health status in Swedish adolescents: an epidemiological, cross-sectional study. Swed Dent J 33:131–139

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Rothlisberger B, Kuonen P, Salvi GE, Gerber J, Pjetursson BE, Attstrom R, Joss A, Lang NP (2007) Periodontal conditions in Swiss army recruits: a comparative study between the years 1985, 1996 and 2006. J Clin Periodontol 34:860–866

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Morinushi T, Lopatin DE, Van Poperin N, Ueda Y (2000) The relationship between gingivitis and colonization by Porphyromonas gingivalis and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans in children. J Periodontol 71:403–409

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Timmerman MF, Van der Weijden GA, Arief EM, Armand S, Abbas F, Winkel EG, Van Winkelhoff AJ, Van der Velden U (2001) Untreated periodontal disease in Indonesian adolescents. Subgingival microbiota in relation to experienced progression of periodontitis. J Clin Periodontol 28:617–627

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Timmerman MF, Van der Weijden GA, Abbas F, Arief EM, Armand S, Winkel EG, Van Winkelhoff AJ, Van der Velden U (2000) Untreated periodontal disease in Indonesian adolescents. Longitudinal clinical data and prospective clinical and microbiological risk assessment. J Clin Periodontol 27:932–942

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Marianne Weibel and Regula Hirschi for their excellent assistance in performing the microbiological analysis. Professor Dr. Wolfgang Strübig is acknowledged for supporting the adolescents' examinations at the Dental Service Bern. The Department of Periodontology at the University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland funded the study.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Periodontology, Dental School, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 7, CH-3010, Bern, Switzerland

    Sigrun Eick & Anton Sculean

  2. School Dental Service, Bern, Switzerland

    Malgorzata Pietkiewicz

Authors
  1. Sigrun Eick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Malgorzata Pietkiewicz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Anton Sculean
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anton Sculean.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Eick, S., Pietkiewicz, M. & Sculean, A. Oral microbiota in Swiss adolescents. Clin Oral Invest 17, 79–86 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-012-0696-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-012-0696-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation