Reproducibility of microbiological samples from periodontal pockets.

Duplicate microbiological samples, were taken 1 week apart using the paper point technique from a total of 112 untreated periodontal pockets greater than 6 mm deep in 16 adult periodontal patients. Duplicate samples were also obtained from these sites 6 months following a therapy of oral hygiene instruction and supra- and subgingival debridement. The reproducibility of the total viable counts and the reproducibility of the proportions of various groups or species of microorganisms were studied from these duplicate samples. The results demonstrated an acceptable degree of reproducibility for the recovery of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Bacteroides gingivalis. For the total viable counts and for the other investigated bacterial groups, including Bacteroides intermedius, unacceptable levels of reproducibility were observed.