Oral Microbiology will become increasingly important in medicine and dentistry. The correlation between Periodontal Disease and medical illnesses like Diabetes and Heart Disease are being explored. Our office has been performing Oral Microbiology testing since 1987 and refers patients with advanced gum disease for a medical evaluation.

Oral microbiology tests performed on likely candidates will usually show anaerobic and aerobic bacteria like: actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (“AA”), spirochetes, and porphyromonas gingivalis (“PG”). These bacteria are highly correlated with periodontal gum disease. Periodontal treatment should focus on their elimination as a goal because Periodontal Disease is highly correlated with other systemic diseases like Diabetes and Heart Disease.

Diabetes discovered in a dental patient with Periodontal Disease (gum disease). Oral Microbiology culture results for a middle-aged woman with severe periodontal disease who did not favorably respond to three years of oral antibiotics at another dental office. Anaerobic bacteria, enteric gram negative rods, populated 13.8% of the culture and were shown to be resistant to the antibiotics she had been taking for three years! This patient was successfully treated with a combination of both Amoxycillin & Metronidazole antibiotics. She was also referred to a nutritionally-focused physician where a Fasting Glucose Tolerance Test showed her to have early stage Diabetes that could be controlled by diet alone. She ended up controlling her diet, lost 40 pounds and regained periodontal health.

Oral Microbiology tests will typically show anaerobic and aerobic bacteria in “at-risk” patients with high proportions of spirochetes, porphyromonas gingivali and actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans. These periodontal disease germs are highly correlated with gum disease and Diabetes; treatment should focus on the elimination of these bacteria.

An Oral Microbiology culture test for the presence of periodontal bacteria associated with Gum Disease and correlated with Diabetes. Technique pictures: Use a cotton pellet and a college pliers to wipe away plaque above the gum line. Place a medium Endodontic cotton point into several different gingival sulci (gum sites) with the deepest pockets. Leave the cotton point in place for five seconds and then quickly place it in the culture medium. Ship overnight to a reputable Microbiologic Testing Lab.

Suggested reading: Listgarten, Offenbacher, Rams and Genco.