PCR method is essential for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis in oral cavity samples.

Tuberculosis is a re-emerging infectious disease, and infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been increasing in immunocompromised hosts, including elderly persons. M. tuberculosis-infected persons may receive dental treatment. To evaluate the risk of M. tuberculosis infection in dental clinics, we examined the detection rates of M. tuberculosis in sample of mixed saliva, dental plaque, extracted teeth, caries lesions, and denture plaque by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The detection rates by PCR in samples from mixed saliva, dental plaque, caries lesions and denture plaque obtained from tuberculosis patients were 98.0%, 92.0%, 89.0%, and 100%, respectively. The detection rates by the culture method were 17.3%, 2.0%, 0%, and 0%, respectively. M. tuberculosis also was detected from the nontuberculous mycobacteria-infected group. Strains of Actinomyces naeslundii, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Fusobacterium nucleatum inhibited the growth of clinical strains of M. tuberculosis, but strains of Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sanguinis, and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans did not. The present study concludes that the PCR method is essential for detecting M. tuberculosis in oral samples.