It is widely known that individuals with Down’s syndrome(DS) often develop early onset severe periodontal diseases. In this study. We examined the prevalence of periodontopathic bacteria in DS patients to compare controls with mental disabilities(MD). The subjects were 27 DS patients (7 to 19 years old) and 27 age-matched controls with MD. Plaque index and gingival index were measured. And 5 pathogens, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, Treponema denticola, Fusobacterium nucleatum, were surveyed in subgingival plaque samples using a polymerase chain reaction. No significant difference in plaque index and gingival index were observed between the DS and control group. The prevalence in DS was 96.3% for F. nucleatum, 74.1% for T. forsythia, 63.0% for P. gingivalis, 55.6% for A. actinomycetemcomitans, 40.7% for T. denticola. No significant differences were observed in the prevalence of periodontopathic bacterias between the DS and control. Prevalence of P.g(16.7) at age 7~10 is lower than other age group in DS, but its prevalence increased with age. Prevalence of A.a(83.3%) is peak at age 7~10 in DS.
These results suggest that various periodontopathic pathogens can colo
nize in the very early childhood of DS and MD patients. But no significant difference was observed in the prevalence of periodontopathic bacterias between the DS and control.
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