Bacteroides gracilisin Periodontal Health and Disease

Abstract

Bacteroides gracilis was isolated from subgingival plaque in 30 adults with periodontal pockets but not from 15 adults with healthy gingival sulci. Half the subjects with pockets had received previous periodontal treatment (residual pockets) and the remainder had no previous periodontal treatment. Samples of subgingival plaque were obtained from three sites in each subject (135 samples in total) using a fresh sterile curette, and placed into vials containing transport medium, from which appropriate dilutions were inoculated onto both enriched and a selective medium for anaerobic incubation. B. gracilis was isolated from 43 samples (48 per cent of total) and 23 subjects (77 per cent) with periodontal pockets but not from any healthy gingival sulci investigated. It is concluded that B. gracilis is a frequent isolate from subgingival plaque in periodontal pockets, as shown in previous studies. In contrast, this microorganism was not isolated from the subgingival microbiota in healthy gingival sulci. Keywords - Bacteroides gracilis , Periodontal pockets.