Development and evaluation of a saliva-based chair-side diagnostic for the detection of Porphyromonas gingivalis

Abstract

Porphyromonas gingivalis is a key pathogen in the polymicrobial biofilm that is associated with the oral disease chronic periodontitis. A number of studies have shown that in humans the level of P. gingivalis in the polymicrobial biofilm is positively correlated with disease progression. The aim of this study was to develop a P. gingivalis diagnostic that has high specificity and sensitivity for P. gingivalis using a range of laboratory and clinical isolates and then compare the efficacy of the diagnostic with RTPCR using samples from chronic periodontitis patients and age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Key parameters for the kit were to use saliva as the biological fluid as this is a mo..