Streptococcus pluranimalium as a new causative agent of acute pericoronitis: a rare case report

Abstract

Difficult tooth eruption or pericoronitis is a very common disorder, which seems to be the most frequent reason of extraction of third molars. It is accompanied by an inflammation of the soft tissues. According to the literature, the microflora of pericoronal pouch mainly consists of hemolytic Streptococcus and anaerobic species of Prevotella and Veillonella genera. However, changes in population immunity and development of diagnostic methods led to some changes of microbiota composition. Moreover, there are no case reports which show presence of Streptococcus pluranimalium in the human oral cavity and its ability to cause a pathology of the maxillo-facial region. This report describes the first case of identification S. pluranimalium as a pathogen among microorganisms of the oral cavity and proves its main role in development of acute purulent pericoronitis.