Research Corner - Increased bacterial load of Filifactor alocis in deep periodontal pockets discriminate between periodontitis stage 3 and 4
Dr Kitty Guo has kindly written a precis of a really thought-provoking article that was recently published.
Increased bacterial load of Filifactor alocis in deep periodontal pockets discriminate between periodontitis stage 3 and 4
Sokransky’s complexes continue form the foundations of our understanding of the bacterial pathogenesis of periodontal diseases, though advances in microbiome research and discovery of new species and strains are reshaping our view of the complex multispecies relationships involved in periodontal and peri-implant diseases.
This new research by Faisal and Ali adds to existing literature on the relatively new species Filifactor alocis which has been proposed by some as an addition to the red complex, because of its prevalence in periodontitis and presence of relevant virulence factors. The authors investigated F. alocis relative abundance from patients with stage 3 and stage 4 periodontitis and identified that F. alocis relative abundance increased with increasing periodontal pocket depth.
It is suggested that F. alocis might be a marker for stage 4 periodontitis, but the authors acknowledge that further research is required. If this is the case, it could be a potential method of screening patients who may require adjunctive treatments or, further research on the virulence mechanisms could help us understand why disease severity varies across different patients/ sites in the mouth. Microbiome research is complex, vast and continues to evolve. Ongoing studies are essential to refine our understanding and translate findings into clinical relevance.