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Bacteraemia due to dental flossing
Author(s) -
Crasta Kenneth,
Daly Christopher G.,
Mitchell David,
Curtis Brad,
Stewart Douglas,
HeitzMayfield Lisa J. A.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of clinical periodontology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.456
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1600-051X
pISSN - 0303-6979
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-051x.2008.01372.x
Subject(s) - medicine , periodontitis , bacteremia , dentistry , incidence (geometry) , chronic periodontitis , antibiotics , microbiology and biotechnology , physics , optics , biology
Aims: The aims of this study were to (1) investigate the incidence of bacteraemia following flossing in subjects with chronic periodontitis or periodontal health; (2) identify the micro‐organisms in detected bacteraemias; and (3) identify any patient or clinical factors associated with such bacteraemia. Material and Methods: Baseline blood samples were obtained from 30 individuals with chronic periodontitis (17 M:13 F, 29–75 years) and 30 with periodontal health (17 M:13 F, 28–71 years) following a non‐invasive examination. Each subject's teeth were then flossed in a standardized manner and blood samples obtained 30 s and 10 min. after flossing cessation. Blood samples were cultured in a BACTEC ™ system and positive samples subcultured for identification. Results: Forty per cent of periodontitis subjects and 41% of periodontally healthy subjects tested positive for bacteraemia following flossing. Viridans streptococci, which are commonly implicated in infective endocarditis (IE), were isolated from 19% of positive subjects and accounted for 35% of microbial isolates. Twenty per cent of subjects had a detectable bacteraemia at 10 min. post‐flossing. No patient or clinical factors were significantly associated with post‐flossing bacteraemia. Conclusions: Dental flossing can produce bacteraemia in periodontally healthy and periodontally diseased individuals at a rate comparable with that caused by some dental treatments for which antibiotic prophylaxis is given to prevent IE.