The transmission of anaerobic periodontopathic organisms.

The oral microbial flora is unique, and available evidence indicates that it is passed vertically from parents to children. In this investigation, we used a chairside assay for the N-benzoyl-DL-arginine-2-naphthylamide (BANA)-sensitive enzyme found in Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, and Tannerella forsythensis, to determine the prevalence of these BANA-positive species in young children and their caregivers. We predicted that if the BANA enzyme was found in plaque samples of children, it would also be present in the plaque samples of the caregivers. Forty-four percent of 150 children had at least one plaque sample positive for the BANA enzyme. If the caregiver was BANA-positive, the odds of the child also being BANA-positive was 35 times more than for a child with a BANA-negative caregiver, after adjustment for the child's age and papillary bleeding score (PBS). Other significant predictors were the PBS of children (p < 0.001), a history of periodontal disease, and the ages of the caregivers (p < 0.001).