Salivary carriage of periodontal pathogens in generalized aggressive periodontitis families

Background: Generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAP) is a multifactorial disease that shows a specific microbial profile and a familial aggregation. Aim: This study evaluated the salivary microbial profile of families with a history of GAP and compared them with healthy families. Design: Fifteen families with parents presenting periodontal health and 15 with parents with a history of GAP were selected. Each family had a child aged 6-12 years. Stimulated saliva was collected from all subjects, and Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), Tannerella forsythia (Tf), and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) amounts were determined. Results: Children of GAP families showed higher detection of Aa (90%) than children of healthy families (45%) (P < 0.05). Parents with GAP showed a Pg salivary concentration statistically higher than that of healthy parents (P < 0.05).Children of GAP families, however, exhibited similar Pg concentration than healthy children (P > 0.05). Tf amounts did not differ either in parents or in children (P > 0.05) The infection risk calculation indicates that children who have one parent who is positive for Aa have 16.3 times (95% CI 3.1-87.2) more risk of being infected with Aa (P < 0.05) than children from an Aa-negative family. Conclusion: It may be concluded that children of parents with aggressive periodontitis have higher levels and higher risk of Aa infection.