The role of the major aerobic microbial flora on the periodontium of the partially and subtotally disalivated rat

Abstract

The specific aims of this work were to study the major aerobic inhabitants of the oral flora, located as near as possible to the gingival sulcular area of the teeth, and their possible relationship to the resulting gingival lesion, which develops in rat that have undergone partial and sub-total desalivation. Information was sought to answer the following questions: 1) What were the effects of desalivaton on weight gain, water consumption and the gingival integrity in the Sprague-Dawley rat? 2) What were the major aerobic micro-organisms around the sulcular area and was there a distinguishable change in the flora of the desalivated rat? 3) Could these micro-organisms by incriminated in the cause of the gingival lesion and was it possible to obtain sections with bacteria in or around the lesion?