Microbiological Analysis of Periodontal Pocket (Subgingival Plaque) and Coronary Atheromatous Plaque in Atherosclerotic Patients

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that chronic infections may predispose to cardiovascular disease. The relationship between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease has been a subject of increasing research in recent years. The isolation and identification of periodontal bacteria from atheromatous plaque can contribute to our knowledge of this vascular disease. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of this study was to isolate and identify periodontal pathogens from the sub gingival plaque of different patients and to compare them with the microorganisms detected in the atheromatous plaque obtained from the same patients. METHODS: The study was performed on twenty five individuals with atherosclerosis. Atheromatous Plaques was collected from the patients during endarterectomy and the subgingival plaque was collected from the same patients with clinical attachment level ≥4mm. Total DNA isolation was done, the presence of 16S rDNA for P.Gingivalis, T.Denticola, T.Forsythia and A actinomycetem comitans was determined using PCR technique. The products were sequenced and they were compared with type strains from Gen Bank by blast to confirm their sequence homology. McNemar’s Test was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The DNA of atleast one of the target bacteria was detected in 96% of the sub gingival Plaque samples. The prevalence of P.gingivalis, T. Denticola, and T. Forsythia was 92%, 80% and 96% respectively. The prevalence of P.Gingivalis, T.Forsythia, and T.Denticola in atheromatous plaque samples was 64%, 56% and 76% respectively. The DNA of periodontal bacteria except A.actinomycetemcomitans was detected in both sub gingival samples and atheromatous samples. In 16 of 25 cases, P.gingivalis was present in both sub gingival samples and atheromatous plaque samples at P value of 0.008. In 19 cases, T.denticola was present in both sub gingival samples and atheromatous plaque samples at P value of 0.031 and T.forsythia were present in both subgingival and atheromatous plaque samples in 14 cases at P value of 0.016. CONCLUSION: The presence of P.Gingivalis, T. Denticola, T. forsythia in both atheromatous plaques and the subgingival plaque of an individual could indicate a role for periodontal pathogenic bacteria in atherosclerosis disease process