Saliva, supragingival biofilm and root canals can harbor gene associated with resistance to lactamic agents

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the presence of Prevotella strains and genes associated with resistance to lactamics in different oral niches from patients with/without primary endodontic infections. Saliva (S) and supragingival biofilm (SB) were collected from three patient groups: Group I -no endodontic infection (n = 15); Group II -acute endodontic infection (n = 12); and Group III -chronic endodontic infection (n = 15). Root canal (RC) samples were collected from Groups II and III. The presence of P. intermedia, P nigrescens, P. tannerae and cfxA/cfxA2 gene was assessed by PCR. The cfxA/cfxA2 gene was not detected in all environments within the same patient. The cfxA/cfxA2 gene was present in 23.81% of S samples, 28.57% of SB samples, and 7.41% of RC samples. Prevotella species were detected in 53.97%, 47.62% and 34.56% of the S, SB, and RC samples, respectively. P. intermedia had a high frequency in saliva samples from Group 3. Saliva samples from Group 1 had higher detection rates of P. nigrescens than did Groups 2 and 3. Patients without endodontic disease had high frequencies of P. nigrescens in the SB samples. The presence or absence of spontaneous symptoms was not related to the detection rates for resistance genes in the RC samples. Saliva, supragingival biofilm and root canals can harbor resistant bacteria. The presence of symptomatology did not increase the presence of the cfxA/cfxA2 gene in the supragingival biofilm and inside root canals.

Prevotella strains and lactamic resistance gene distribution in different oral environments of children with pulp necrosis

“…Prevotella intermedia was not found in any of the saliva samples, which is in contrast to a similar study in adults, in which these strains appeared with high frequency (Moraes et al . ). There was a low frequency of P. intermedia in all the niches collected.…”

“…Sample size was determined based on previous results reported by Moraes et al . () (frequency of the Prevotella species) and Lancaster et al . () (frequency of detecting antibiotic resistant genes).…”

“…The methodology used in this study was based on the research conducted by Moraes et al . (). Sample size was determined based on previous results reported by Moraes et al .…”

“…However, in some specific cases, antimicrobial agents may be employed as adjunctive measures to treat acute apical abscesses associated with systemic involvement (Moraes et al . ). The most frequently prescribed antibiotics in dentistry are the beta‐lactams, such as penicillin, which remains the empirical choice for odontogenic infections (AAPD ) prescribed for adults (Salako et al .…”

“…Moraes et al . () reported the presence of beta‐lactamic resistance gene cfx A/ cfx A2 in different niches of the oral cavity of adults, with and without endodontic infections. In children, there is only one study that investigated the presence of resistant genes in the supragingival biofilm (Lancaster et al .…”