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Microbiological culture analysis of the tongue microflora in subjects with and without halitosis
Author(s) -
Donaldson AC,
McKenzie D,
Flanagan AJ,
Riggio MP
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
oral diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.953
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1601-0825
pISSN - 1354-523X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1601-0825.2005.01105_68.x
Subject(s) - fastidious organism , veillonella , prevotella , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , gram staining , bacteria , agar plate , fusobacterium , anaerobic bacteria , bacteroides , streptococcus , antibiotics , genetics
Objective Determination of the microflora present on the tongue dorsum of subjects with and without halitosis using conventional microbiological culture methods. Methods Twenty‐one halitosis and 20 control patients were recruited using a strict clinical protocol. Samples were collected from the posterior dorsum of the tongue using a sterile brush. Each sample was vortex mixed for 30 s and serial 10‐fold dilutions to 10 −7 were carried out. Samples were plated onto fastidious anaerobe agar (FAA) and FAA enriched with vancomycin. These were incubated under anaerobic conditions for 10 days at 37°C. Strict anaerobes were identified by metronidazole sensitivity and bacteria were identified to genus level by a combination of colony morphology, Gram staining and biochemical and enzymatic tests (rapid ID 32 A). Results The predominant species in test and control groups were Veillonella and Prevotella . Greater species diversity was found in the halitosis samples compared to controls. The halitosis samples contained a larger number of unidentifiable gram‐negative rods, gram positive rods and gram negative coccobacilli. Conclusions There was no obvious association between halitosis and any specific bacterial genus. The increased species diversity found in halitosis samples suggests that halitosis may be the result of complex interactions between several bacterial species. The role of uncultivable bacteria may also be important in contributing to this process.