Dialister pneumosintes, a new putative periodontal pathogen.

Recent studies have implicated Dialister pneumosintes as a candidate periodontal pathogen. This study determined the association of subgingival D. pneumosintes with demographic variables (age and gender) and the presence of subgingival periodontopathic Bacteroides forsythus and Porphyromonas gingivalis. Microbial identification by established PCR techniques was performed in samples from 149 periodontitis patients. Subgingival D. pneumosintes occurred with significantly higher prevalence in older individuals and was closely associated with subgingival B. forsythus. D. pneumosintes may play an important role in the microbial complex responsible for destructive periodontal disease.