The Occurrence of Mycoplasma (Pleuropneumonia-like Organisms, PPLO) in the Oral Cavity of Dentulous and Edentulous Subjects

¹ Department of Clinical Microbiology, The Hebrew University—Hadassah Medical School; and Department of Oral Rehabilitation, The Hebrew University—Hadassah School of Dentistry, Jerusalem, Israel

The oral cavities of 138 subjects were examined for Mycoplasma. M. salivarium was isolated from the gingival sulci of nearly all subjects having natural dentitions. No Mycoplasma could be found in edentulous subjects. A strain resembling the saprophytic M. laidlawii was isolated from one of the subjects. It was concluded that M. salivarium is a normal constituent of the anaerobic flora of the human oral cavity.