Aerobic bacteriology of the subgingival plaque in patients with and without periodontitis undergoing tooth extraction

Aim: To report the pattern of distribution of the aerobic subgingival microflora in patients with and without periodontitis undergoing tooth extraction and healthy controls. Methods: The prevalence and the distribution of the aerobic cultivable microflora were examined in healthy controls, patients undergoing tooth extractions without periodontitis and patients undergoing tooth extraction with periodontitis. The bacterial isolates were grown using standard culture techniques and the isolates were identified using automated Vitek2 (bioMerieux). Results: A total of 370 aerobic isolates, comprised of 32 different species were identified in this study. Majority of the strains 225 (60.81%) were isolated from patients of periodontitis as compared to 145 (39.19%) patients without periodontitis. Conclusions: There is a distinctive bacterial flora in the healthy oral cavity which is different from that of the patients withperiodontitis. However, there is predominance of viridans group streptococci in the subgingival plaque of healthy controls and patients as well, suggesting their contribution in progression of periodontitis, if oral hygiene is compromised.