OCCURRENCE OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS IN PERIODONTAL POCKETS OF DIABETIC AND NON-DIABETIC ADULTS

Three groups of adults were tested for the presence of staphylococcal organisms in periodontal sulci. The control sulci. Thecontrol group consisted of 40 young adults (29 males and 11 females) showing clinically healthy gingival tissues without evidence of loss of attachment. The periodontitis-nondiabetic group consisted of 40 nondiabetic adults (24 males and 16 females) who had periodontitis and presented a pocket depth of 5 mm+ on the mesial aspect of the first mandibular molar. The periodontitis-diabetic group consisted of 40 medically supervised adult diabetic patients (27 males and 13 females). All had periodontitis and presented a pocket depth of 5 mm+ of the mesial aspect of the first mandibular molar. A highly significant difference in the incidence of Staphylococcus was found between the diabetics when compared to nondiabetics and other controls. The strains of Staphylococcus recovered from pockets of nondiabetics differed significantly from the ones isolated from the diabetics. In the nondiabetic group, Staphylococcus saprophyticus was found to be the predominant species of Staphylococcus whereas Staphylococcus epidermidis constituted the great majority of the diabetic isolates. The difference was statistically significant (0.001<P<0.009). The pathogenic characteristics presently recognized in S. epidermidis suggest that it might play a role in the pathogenesis of the periodontal lesion in subjects with diabetes mellitus. At the present time it is difficult to envisage a role for S. saprophyticus in nondiabetic periodontitis, although such a possibility cannot be excluded.