Bacteriology of acute periapical pathosis

Abstract

A deep knowledge about endodontic microbiology is a fundamental resource to understand the role of bacteria in the origin and development of periapical pathosis as well as to provide database for adequate therapy. Our objective was to investigate the composition of bacterial flora in acute periapical pathosis, and identitify in vivo the microorganisms found in the root canal. We have studied 11 teeth from 11 subjects. The results were negative in five teeth and two microorganisms (Staphylococcus sp. and Peptostreptococcus sp.) were found in one sample. The other five teeth presented pure cultures of Peptostreptococcus sp., Fusobacterium nucleatum, Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus agalactiae and viridans streptococcus. In this study, we were able to identify some potentially pathogenic bacterias in acute periapical pathosis such as Peptostreptococcus sp., Fusobacterium nucleatum, viridans streptococcus and Enterococcus faecalis. Our results indicate that the technique applied might not have been adequate to determine composition of bacterial flora in acute periapical pathosis. Such finding is based on negative bacterial growth in almost half of the sample, anaerobic bacterias were isolated just in three out of eleven cases and mixed cultures involving two bacterias found in only one sample.