Treponema denticola and Porphyromonas Gingivalis as bioindicator oral hygiene status and organoleptic score in mouth breathing children

Objective: Mouth breathing is a bad habit that has several impacts on dentocraniofacial growth and development in children. It also related to another oral cavity condition, such as poor oral hygiene and halitosis. Halitosis is caused by an anaerobic bacteria product such as Treponema denticola and Porphyromonasgingivalis. These bacteria are Gram-negative anaerobic bacteria that play a significant role to halitosis occurrence. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of T. denticola and P. gingivalis as bioindicator in mouth breathing children. Methods: A total number of 60 subjects had a mouth breathing test (19 subjects diagnosed as mouth breathers and 41 subjects as nose breathers). Then, the subjects were classified into halitosis and oral hygiene status category. Identification of T. denticola and P. gingivalis in supragingival plaque and buccal mucosa subjects was used a conventional polymerase chain reaction method. Results: The correlation between Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified and organoleptic score in mouth breathers has positive correlation (r=0.001), in the contrary, in nose breathers, it has negative correlation (r=-0.046). Meanwhile, the prevalence of T. denticola and P. gingivalis in mouth and nose breathers has no significant differences. Moreover, the significance value of prevalence T. denticola and P. gingivalis based on clinical parameters halitosis and oral hygiene status has no differences. Conclusion: The prevalence of T. denticola and P. gingivalis cannot be used as bioindicator in mouth breathers.