Abstract
The aim of this study is to clarify the microbial constitution of denture plaque with the adoption of the anaerobic glove box system. Anaerobic incubation of the samples taken from five edentulous patients (74-80 yr-old) always gave a higher recovery than aerobic one, suggesting that conditions in the plaque were anaerobic. Of total 185 isolates, 90 (49%) were obligate anaerobes, and the predominant bacteria were among Veillonella (23%), Bifidobacterium (7%), Lactobacillus (5%), Actinomyces (5%) and Eubacterium (3%). Among facultative isolates (51%), Streptococcus (31%) and Lactobacillus
(16%) were common. No strains of Candida were isolated. The bacterial composition of denture plaque was somewhat different from that of plaque on teeth.
