1997 Volume 71 Issue 12 Pages 1226-1231
Although studies of bacteriology of closed oral abscesses have been extensively done, there are few studies on microorganisms involving open oral abscesses. We examined bacteriologically three open abscesses with precaution against bacterial contamination with oral normal flora and saliva, when sampling. The specimens were subjected to aerobic and anaerobic cultures within 2 hours after sampling. All three cases were infected with 5 to 14 species of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria; Streptococcus spp., Prevotella internedia and other Prevotella spp. were predominant in all three cases. All six Prevotella spp. isolated were β-lactamase producers, being resistant to β-lactam antibiotics. These results emphasize the importance of prompt anaerobic culture for the bacteriological study of open oral abscess and the significance of nitrocefin test to detect β-lactamase produced by oral isolates, especially Prevotella spp.
