[First results with a microbiological quick diagnostic procedure in periodontitis]

We tested a new diagnostic procedure for the characterization of subgingival plaque in 119 subjects suffering from adult periodontitis. The method can be characterized as a hydrolysis of BANA (N-benzoyl-DL-arginine-beta-naphthylamide) by peptidases of Porphyromonas gingivalis, Bacteroides forsythus and Treponema denticola. The result of a positive will be a more or less blue coloured test paper representing the amount of these three peridontal pathogens into the subgingival plaque. After the periodontal initial therapy the frequency of the positive colour reaction was significantly reduced. A correlation between the colour reaction and the clinical signs of periodontitis as well as the morphological characterization of subgingival plaque by darkfield microscopy could not been found. The new method for the characterization subgingival plaque seems to be useful for the judgement of a successful periodontal therapy at single sites.