Prevalence of <em>Trichomonas tenax</em> in the Population Affected by Periodontal Disease—A Review

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Trichomonas tenax is a protozoan which participates in the human oral microflora. It is considered as a potential paradontopathogen. This microorganism is also reported in the respiratory tract. We aimed to analyze the available literature about the prevalence of Trichomonas tenax in the population affected by periodontal disease. Materials and Methods: Searching the Scopus, PubMed, and ScienceDirect databases with the keywords: “Trichomonas tenax” and “periodontal diseases” was able to identify several systematic reviews and original articles up until July 2023. All studies with patients suffering from periodontal disease, which mentioned the year of publication, the country, specified the detection methods, and included the total number of tested samples as well as the percentage of those infected with Trichomonas tenax were included. Irrelevant articles were excluded. Results: We found 137 studies, but only 64 studies about the distribution of Trichomonas tenax in patients with gum disease underwent qualitative analysis. The highest number of studies have been conducted in Iran, Poland and Iraq. Different methods have been used to detect the unicellular organism, each with a different specificity and sensitivity. Conclusions: Interest in Trichomonas tenax has grown considerably since 2000. Because of its association with periodontal disease, Trichomonas tenax’s role in the inflammatory process should not be overlooked.

Keywords

• oral protozoa
• oral microflora
• periodontal disease
• <i>Trichomonas tenax</i>
• respiratory diseases