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Background: The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of different genotypes of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in peri-implantitis and mucositis sites, and to evaluate the correlation between herpesvirus presence and clinical parameters. Methods: A total of 80 dental implants (mean time of loading, 4.16 ± 1.8 years) were evaluated during the course of the study (30 peri-implantitis, 25 mucositis and 25 healthy peri-implant sites). The following clinical parameters were assessed: visible plaque index, bleeding on probing, suppuration and probing depth. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was used to identify the presence of different HCMV and EBV genotypes in peri-implant tissue plaque samples. Results: HCMV-2 was detected in 53.3% and EBV-1 in 46.6% of the 30 peri-implantitis sites evaluated. By contrast, HCMV-2 was not detected in healthy periodontal sites and EBV-1 was detected in one healthy site. A statistically significant correlation was found between the presence of HCMV-2 and EBV-1 genotypes and clinical parameters of peri-implantitis. Conclusions: The results from the present study confirmed the high prevalence of HCMV-2 and EBV-1 in the peri-implant tissue plaque of peri-implantitis sites and suggests a possible active pathogenic role of the viruses in peri-implantitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A group of smokers and a group of non-smokers were the participants in this study. The groups were matched by age and gingival health. Oral polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) were harvested from the subjects by saline mouth rinses. These PMN were tested for their ability to phagocytize latex spheres and to exclude trypan blue. Tests were performed for smokers and non-smokers on three consecutive days, with identical procedures except that every participant smoked one cigarette on the second day immediately prior to cell collection, PMN harvested from the oral cavities of smokers were less vital as measured with the dye exclusion test and were less able to phagocytize particles on each experimental day. Smoking one cigarette immediately prior to cell collection resulted in a further decrease of these parameters for both smokers and non-smokers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]