Comparison of the distribution of oral cavity bacteria in various dog populations

Dental diseases are common in dogs. Oral diseases which are chronic bacterial infections found in dogs, resulting as tooth decay, gingivitis, periodontal diseases and malodor. Salivary bacteria and the formation of dental biofilms on teeth are predominant factors in the etiology of those diseases. In this study we compared the distribution of supragingival oral bacteria of dogs from different habitats: municipal shelter dogs, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and client owned dogs. Salivary samples from each dog were examined for total supragingival bacteria, lactobacilli and mutans streptococci bacteria. Our results show that the IDF dogs had significantly lower number of total oral supragingival bacteria as well as mutans streptococci bacteria compared to dogs from the municipal shelter and/or client owned dogs. Dogs from the municipal shelter had a significantly higher number of lactobacilli than both IDF and client owned dogs. A significantly higher mean count of total supragingival bacteria was found in mixed breed dogs compared to pure breed dogs. A comparison of the influence of the commercial dried dog food vs. the commercial dried dog food and human food leftovers on the mean general bacteria count and mutans streptococci revealed significantly lower counts in dogs that were fed only commercial dried food as opposed to dogs that ate dried food and human food leftovers. This study showed that the quantity of caries causing bacteria and the quantity of total supragingival bacteria are related to the environment in which the dogs were kept.