Salivary Microflora of Geriatric Edentulous Persons Wearing Dentures

The aim of this study was to investigate the bacterial composition of saliva from five geriatric edentulous persons wearing dentures. Significantly more (P<005) bacteria were recovered after anaerobic incubation (mean 8.6 × 108c.f.u./ml) than after incubation in air with 30 per cent CO2 (mean 3.8 × 108 c.f.u./ml). Out of the 151 strains isolated as predominant bacteria, 43 (28 per cent) were obligate anaerobes and 99 (66 per cent) were facultative anaerobes. The majority of the obligate anaerobes and facultative anaerobes isolated were assigned to the genera Veillonella and Streptococcus, respectively. Strains of Candida were detected in 3/5 patients though the viable counts only corresponded to less than 0.001 percent of the total viable counts. The present study, with the adoption of efficient anaerobic isolation procedures, indicates that many obligate anaerobes can be found in the saliva of edentulous persons wearing complete dentures, and that the bacterial composition of their saliva is similar to that of denture plaque.