Effect of root debridement on the elimination of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Bacteroides gingivalis from periodontal pockets

Abstract

Abstract The aims of this 6‐month longitudinal study were: (1) to investigate to what extent root debridement of pockets in adult periodontitis will reduce the subgingival presence of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Bacteroides gingivalis and some other bacterial groups; (2) to relate the microbiological results following debridement to clinical measurements of healing, 16 patients and a total of 111 periodontally involved sites with probing depth 6 mm served for the study. Duplicate subgingival microbial samples and duplicate clinical recordings were obtained 1 week apart at baseline and at 6 months following supra‐ and subgingival debridement. The results demonstrated reductions of the mean total viable counts and reductions of the mean counts of several of the cultured groups of micro‐organisms coupled with significant improvements of mean clinical measurements. B. gingivalis was eliminated from a majority of infected subgingival sites. A. actinomycetemcomitans, on the other hand, still remained after therapy in a high proportion of sites initially infected with this microorganism. Subgingival persistence of A. actinomycetemcomitans appeared to be associated with a reduced healing response following debridement. Further studies are needed to clarify why A. actinomycetemcomitans is poorly eliminated following debridement. Also, the long‐term clinical significance of the subgingival perseverance of A. actinomycetemcomitans needs to be elucidated.