Dialister pneumosintes can be a suspected endodontic pathogen.

OBJECTIVE

Dialister pneumosintes is a nonmotile, nonfermentative, non-spore-forming, obligately anaerobic, gram-negative bacillus that has been associated with some infections in the human body. A species-specific nested polymerase chain reaction assay was used to investigate the occurrence of D pneumosintes in primary root canal infections.

STUDY DESIGN

Samples were collected from 32 teeth with carious lesions, necrotic pulps, and radiographic evidence of periradicular bone destruction. Twenty-two teeth were asymptomatic, and 10 cases were diagnosed as acute apical periodontitis. DNA extracted from the samples was initially amplified with universal 16S ribosomal DNA primers. A second round of amplification used the first polymerase chain reaction products to specifically detect D pneumosintes.

RESULTS

This bacterial species was detected in 17 of 22 asymptomatic cases (77.3%) and in 4 of 10 root canals associated with acute apical periodontitis (40%). No relationship was found between the presence of this bacterial species and the occurrence of symptoms. In general, D pneumosintes was detected in 21 of 32 root canal samples (65.6%).

CONCLUSION

This study is the first to report a high prevalence of D pneumosintes in root canal infections of humans. Because of this high prevalence and the apparent pathogenicity of the microorganism, we suggest the inclusion of D pneumosintes in the selected group of putative endodontic pathogens.