Abstract
The purpose of this investigation was to define the cultivable oral microflora in supragingival and subgingival plaques of Algerian healthy adults. Supragingival and subgingival plaque samples were collected from 65 Algerian caries-free, periodontally healthy subjects. Samples were taken from approximal surfaces and analysed for bacterial content after being inoculated on non-selective and selective media and incubated under different atmospheres; aerobic, capnophilic and anaerobic. The standard identification procedures by biochemical tests were used. Pearson’s Chi-square χ2 test (P 0.05, χ2-test) with the predominance of enterococci which were isolated even from supragingival and subgingival plaques in considerable proportions. The supragingival bacterial flora in healthy adults was composed mainly of Gram positive cocci and anaerobic Gram positive rods with the predominance of Streptococci and Actinomyces naeslundii, respectively; whereas, anaerobic Gram negative rods and facultative anaerobic Gram positive cocci were the predominant bacteria in subgingival plaque. Keys words: Oral microflora, dental biofilm, supragingival plaque, subgingival plaque, cultivable bacteria, healthy adults.
Highlights
The commensal human microbiome is estimated to outnumber the amount of human body cells by a factor of 10 (Turnbaugh et al, 2009)
Two hundred and forty three (243) species were isolated in 130 supragingival and subgingival samples, with an average of two bacterial species per sample, the bacterial respiratory types in supragingival and subgingival samples were distributed as follows: aerobic bacteria were isolated in 54.5% of supra-gingival samples and 25.8% of subgingival samples, anaerobic bacteria were detected in 21.2% of supragingival samples and 42% of subgingival ones, while association of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria was indicated both in supragingival and subgingival samples in 24.2 and 32.25% of cases, respectively (Table 1)
There was a significant difference between supragingival and subgingival biofilm in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria (p
Summary
The commensal human microbiome is estimated to outnumber the amount of human body cells by a factor of 10 (Turnbaugh et al, 2009). These complex microbial communities are normal residents of the human body and carry a broad range of functions indispensable for the well being of the host. When the balance between the microbiota and the host is lost, the disease is manifested (Zaura et al, 2009) Some of these bacteria have been implicated in oral diseases such as caries and periodontitis, which are among the most common bacterial infections in humans. In contrast to an earlier view that the oral microbiome consists of large numbers of uncultivated species (Paster et al, 2001), it has been recently demonstrated that the majority of oral bacterial profiles detected by 16S pyrosequencing method could be mapped to cultivated species (Griffen et al, 2012 )
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