RESUMO
Evidence is mounting that the prevalence of some putative endodontic pathogens can significantly vary according to the geographic location in which samples were taken. This study aimed to provide additional knowledge on this subject by comparing the frequencies of 10 selected candidate endodontic pathogens in samples of acute apical abscesses obtained from two distinct geographic locations; Portland, OR, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. DNA was extracted from aspirates and used as template in nested PCR assays using 16S rRNA gene taxon-specific oligonucleotide primers. Of the target species/phylotypes, Treponema denticola (73% of the cases), Porphyromonas endodontalis (70%), and Tannerella forsythia (57%) were the most prevalent taxa found in Brazilian samples. Dialister invisus (70% of the cases), P. endodontalis (63%) and Dialister pneumosintes (55%) were the most frequent taxa in the Portland, OR samples. Data analysis revealed that T. denticola and T. forsythia were significantly more detected in Brazilian samples than in the Portland, OR samples. Although D. invisus, Filifactor alocis, and Synergistes oral clone W090 were detected in many more samples from the Portland, OR patients, differences were not found to be statistically significant. These findings confirmed that some bacterial taxa can markedly differ in the frequencies they occur in samples from different locations. It remains to be clarified whether this observation translates into relevant therapeutic implications.