Detection of Six Periodontopathogens in the Subgingival Plaque of Patients with Chronic Periodontitis in Lagos, Nigeria

Objective: This study was aimed at evaluating the occurrence of six periodontal pathogens in the subgingival plaque of patients with chronic periodontitis in Nigeria. Methods: Forty-two subjects with chronic periodontitis participated in the cross-sectional study between June, 2015 and August, 2016. Subgingival plaque samples from one site of ?3mm depth (gingivitis) and another site with the greatest depth of ?4mm (periodontitis) respectively were collected from each subject. Culture and PCR assay using 16S rRNA species-specific primers, were performed. Fisher’s exact test was used for statistical analysis. Results: Majority (73.8%) of the subjects were positive for at least one of the organisms. Culture was positive for P. gingivalis, F. nucleatum and P. intermedia in 23.8%, 14.3% and 14.3% of the subjects respectively in sites of ?3mm and at 33.3%, 23.8% and 33.3% respectively in sites of ?4mm. PCR was able to detect all six periodontopathogens in sites of ?4mm, with A. actinomycetemcomitans, P. gingivalis F. nucleatum P. intermedia, T. forsythia and T. denticola in 4.8%, 31.0%, 40.4%, 45.2%, 4.8% and 2.4% of the subjects respectively. The pathogen with the most frequent total occurrence in all sites was P. intermedia (54.8%). The difference between the occurrence of the organisms in the sites of periodontal probing depth of ?3mm and ?4mm was significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: This study shows the distribution of subgingival periodontal pathogens in chronic periodontitis in a Nigerian population. Wider studies among the Nigerian population are required to assess differences in the pattern of distribution of these bacteria.