[Evaluation of non radioactive DNA probe (Affirm DP) for detecting periodontopathic bacteria]

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the potential of application of non-radioactive DNA probe method (Affirm DP) in clinical diagnosis and evaluation of treatment efficacy. Sensitivity and specificity of two different cut-off levels (10(4), 5 x 10(5)) of the method with bacterial culture in detection of Bacteroides forsythus, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans were compared. Those bacteria were obtained from bacterial cultures and clinical samples from healthy subjects and patients with periodontal disease. The results showed that detection percentage of DNA probe method with 10(4) cut-off was equal to or higher than the culture method for Bacteroides forsythus and Porphyromonas gingivalis detection. Therefore, it is suggested to be a useful chairside DNA probe kit as an aid in clinical diagnosis and evaluation of treatment efficacy.