Moderne mikrobiologisk diagnostik:har tandlæger brug for det?

Microbiological diagnostics are an important element in the treatment of infectious diseases partly to ensure optimal treatment and partly to reduce the overuse of antibiotics. There is general agreement that the oral diseases caries, periodontitis and candidiasis are caused by microorganisms in the oral cavity, but with a single exception there is no evidence that these are actual infectious diseases, ie. diseases that transmit from patient to patient. The article discusses whether new methods for mapping the oral microbiota and its activities in the future may be applied in clinical dentistry.