[Mycobacteria in the development of periodontal foci of infection].

A total of 162 samples of material from the periodontal foci of infection were examined microbiologically and morphologically to detect mycobacteria and their biologically changed variants. The regularities of the pathologic process development in periodontal tissues of subjects without tuberculosis were found to fully conform to the current concept of a latent tuberculous infection. The periodontal foci of infection may be regarded as reservoirs of persistent mycobacteria, whose main form, L variant, was detected in 71.6% of cases. Clinical and morphologic manifestations of periodontitis depend on the stability of the persistent mycobacteria L forms.