Subgingival Plaque as a reservoir for SARS COV-2 VIRUS. A Cross sectional study.

Abstract

AIM: To evaluate the presence of SARS COV-2 virus in subgingival plaque in previously infected patients diagnosed with Chronic Generalized Periodontitis. MATERIAL & METHOD: Subjects with chronic generalized periodontitis who had suffered from COVID-19 Disease (both male and female) in age group of 18-65 yrs total 100 patients were included in the study . Patients diagnosed with systemic illnesses, antibiotics/antiviral drug usage in past 6 months and undergone scaling were excluded. Subgingival plaque samples were collected with the help of curette by following sterilization guideline. Collected samples were sent for Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to determine the presence of SARS-COV-2 virus.RESULTS: RT-PCR results showed no sample positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus in subgingival plaque samples of patients who had COVID-19 disease in past 6 months. CONCLUSION: Within the limitation of the study, we conclude that Subgingival Plaque from previously infected COVID-19 patients doesn’t harbour SARSCoV-2 RNA and it might not be a potential reservoir with an essential role in COVID-19 transmission