BAJA FRECUENCIA DE Enterococcus faecalis EN MUCOSA ORAL DE SUJETOS QUE ACUDEN A CONSULTA ODONTOLÓGICA/LOW FREQUENCY OF Enterococcus faecalis IN THE ORAL MUCOSA OF SUBJECTS ATTENDING DENTAL CONSULTATION

Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) is a Gram-positive, facultative anaerobic, unsporulated coccus whose habitat is the gastrointestinal tract. It can also be found in the hepatobiliary tract, the vagina, and wounds on soft tissues. It has been shown that due to its high virulence, E. faecalis can penetrate the dentinal tubules, surviving chemical-mechanical instrumentation, colonize them at a depth of 300 μm and re-infest the canals even after being obturated, but the source of infection is not clear. This paper aims to determine the frequency and resistance profile of E. faecalis in the oral mucosa of patients attending dental consultation. Samples were collected from the gingiva, gingival sulcus, palate, tongue, and cheeks of 200 adult subjects attending dental consultation. E. faecalis was identified by means of a screening that included catalase, hemolysis in agar blood, bile esculin, 6.5% NaCl, and PYR, confirming by a Microscan panel (DadeBehring). E. faecalis was isolated from the oral microbiota of 10 samples (5%).