Abstract
In the present study, the relationships between the counts of putative periodontopathic bacteria in saliva and theoral and general status of the elderly in nursing homes were investigated. The subjects were 37 residents (13 men and 24 women; mean age, 82.1 years) of six nursing homes. Saliva samples were collected from subjects, who providedconsent. Bacterial counts per 10, μl of saliva were measured using the PCR-Invader method for the following species: Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (A. a), Prevotella intermedia (P. i), Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. g), Tannerella forsythia (T.f) , and Treponema denticola (T.d) . The relationships between the measured bacterial countsand the following subject characteristics were investigated: age, gender, care level, BMI, periodontal parameters, amount of tongue coating, and amount of food residue. The severe periodontal disease group had significantly highercounts of P.g, T.f, and T. d than the mild or moderate group (p<0.05, p<0.05, and p<0.01, respectively), while nosignificant relationships to bacterial counts were observed for care level, BMI, and amount of food residue. Theseresults suggest that the periodontopathic bacteria detected in saliva are primarily related to the severity ofperiodontitis of the elderly and are independent of their general status.
