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The aim of this study was to examine the distribution of typical periodontitis-associated microorganisms in refugees arriving from non-industrialized countries, and to relate the presence of these organisms to the periodontal condition of the subjects. Thirty males between 35-44 years of age were surveyed. Dental plaque, calculus, gingivitis, loss of attachment, and probing depths were recorded for all surfaces. A total of 90 microbiological samples were taken with paper points from mesial sites of teeth 16, 36 and 41. Microbiological test sites were grouped by probing depths and loss of attachment. Only 16.8% of all surfaces had probing depths > 3 mm, although 90.7% of surfaces had loss of attachment > 1 mm. Twenty-one sites with obvious periodontal destruction (PD > 3 mm, LA > 2 mm) showed the greatest recovery of Porphyromonas gingivalis (66.7%). However, 51 sites with minimal periodontal disease (PD < or = 3 mm, LA < 2 mm) and with no gingival recession also showed a relatively high detection frequency of P. gingivalis (34.1%). Twenty-four of these samples came from 12 patients with no pockets > 5 mm and with less than 10% of all sites yielding pockets > 3 mm. The detection frequencies of Prevotella intermedia (91.6%), Bacteroides forsythus (25.0%), Wolinella spp. (33.3%) and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (50.0%) were similar in these sites compared with periodontitis sites. Morphologically distinct isolates, from 19 individuals positive for A. actinomycetemcomitans, were serotyped by indirect immunofluorescence.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)