Red Complex Species

Periodontal diseases are infections caused by microorganisms that colonize the tooth surface at or below the gingival margin. It is a biofilm-induced chronic inflammatory disease that leads to the destruction of the tooth-supporting structures such as the gingiva and the underlying alveolar bone.The different microbial complexes have been associated with the sequence of colonization on the tooth surface as well as with disease severity. The 'red complex', which appears later in biofilm development, comprises species that are considered periodontal pathogens, namely, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, and Tannerella forsythia. So this book will focus on the potential of members of the red complex to emerge in the periodontopathic microbial ecology and address their virulence potential in progression of periodontitis.