Bacterial study of pyogenic infections of dental origin

Fluctuant abscesses of dental origin were sampled by syringe aspiration. These samples were cultured by means of techniques suitable for isolation and growth of obligate anaerobes. Oral abscesses are usually mixed infections that include a number of different species. More than 65 per cent of the species isolated were obligate anaerobes, which indicates the need for anaerobic methods in studying these infections. Anaerobic gram-negative rods and facultative streptococci were the groups isolated most frequently.