PLoS ONE (Jan 2023)

The association between gingivitis and oral spirochetes in young cats and dogs.

  • Seiya Yamaki,
  • Masato Tachibana,
  • Hisae Hachimura,
  • Masao Ogawa,
  • Shinya Kanegae,
  • Hirokazu Amimoto,
  • Takashi Shimizu,
  • Kenta Watanabe,
  • Masahisa Watarai,
  • Akiteru Amimoto

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281126
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 18, no. 1
p. e0281126

Abstract

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Although gingivitis frequently occurs in young cats, spirochetes are often found in the early stages of periodontal disease. This study was conducted to determine the association between gingivitis and oral spirochetes in young cats and dogs. The degree of gingivitis was evaluated in a total of 68 cats and 31 dogs under one year of age, and plaques were collected from each carnassial. To detect spirochetes or Porphyromonas gulae in plaque samples, 16S rRNA gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primers. All data were analyzed using Fisher's exact probability test and odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI). The prevalence of gingivitis was significantly higher in young cats (92.6%) than in young dogs (45.2%). The positive rate of spirochetes by PCR in gingivitis cases was 85.4% in young cats and 15.4% in young dogs, and the positive rate of P. gulae was 66.7% in young cats and 15.4% in young dogs. Both results were significantly higher in young cats than in young dogs. In young cats, spirochetes were significantly associated with gingivitis (OR = 7.95; 95% CI = 1.17, 53.83; P < 0.05), but P. gulae was not (OR = 2.44; 95% CI = 0.38, 15.66; P = 0.23). These results suggest that spirochetes may be associated with the early stages of periodontal disease in cats.