Treponema denticola is a motile and highly proteolytic bacterium. The Gram-negative oral spirochete is associated with the incidence and severity of humanperiodontal disease. Treponema denticola levels in the mouth are elevated in patients with periodontal diseases and the species is considered one of the main etiological agents of periodontitis.
T. denticola dwells in a complex and diverse microbial community in the oral cavity and is highly specialized to survive in this environment.
T. denticola is related to the syphilis-causing obligate human pathogen,
Treponema pallidum subsp.
pallidum.
