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. 2023 Jan 27;18(1):e0281126.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281126. eCollection 2023.

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

Seiya Yamaki  1   2 , Masato Tachibana  3 , Hisae Hachimura  1 , Masao Ogawa  1 , Shinya Kanegae  1 , Hirokazu Amimoto  1 , Takashi Shimizu  2   4 , Kenta Watanabe  2   4 , Masahisa Watarai  2   4 , Akiteru Amimoto  1
Affiliations

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

Seiya Yamaki et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

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.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Examples of gingivitis determination according to the criteria for the GI systems in cats and dogs.
The right maxillary fourth premolars (108) are compared.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Prevalence of gingivitis in cats and dogs one year old or younger.
Significant differences are indicated by asterisks (*P < 0.05).
Fig 3
Fig 3. Several morphological types of spirochetes found in dental plaque.
(A) High stainability and many spiral type (arrows). (B) Low stainability and little spiral type (white arrowheads). (C) Low stainability and many spiral type (black arrowheads). (D) Many types of spirochetes. Scale bar represents 10 μm.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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