key: cord-0907731-rxxcu9v7
authors: Berton, Federico; Rupel, Katia; Florian, Fiorella; Biasotto, Matteo; Pallavicini, Alberto; Di Lenarda, Roberto
title: Dental calculus—a reservoir for detection of past SARS-CoV-2 infection
date: 2021-05-26
journal: Clin Oral Investig
DOI: 10.1007/s00784-021-04001-8
sha: 32ff0441d27b998707db8da9dbad954ca1ce91d6
doc_id: 907731
cord_uid: rxxcu9v7

nan

used, as previous studies demonstrated its high sensitivity and specificity [5] . The results showed that SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in all POS subjects, in the two SUSP subjects, and one among CTRL subjects. Ct values are reported in Table 1 . Furthermore, one of the POS subjects resulted negative at a serologic assay while the other four subjects developed specific IgG antibodies. Samples were further analyzed using the CDC N1 assay, confirming the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in one POS subject. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was confirmed by genomic sequencing of the amplicons obtained with the RdRp Institut Pasteur IP2 assay. Sanger sequencing was run at Eurofins Genomics facilities.

Dental calculus has been previously analyzed, mostly for microbiome definition in archaeological human samples and serving as milieu for the preservation of genomic information. Similarly, dental calculus may be helpful to detect SARS-CoV-2 traces in previously infected and possibly also in asymptomatic or mild symptomatic patients that may not develop detectable antibodies, therefore lacking a method to confirm the occurred infection. Further studies are needed to define method's reliability, cost/effectiveness, and suitability for large-scale epidemiological studies or post-mortem analysis. Although our study has some limitations due to the small number of samples, we believe that its interest resides in the fact that it is the first describing the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in dental calculus.

Publisher's note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. 

Serum-IgG responses to SARS-CoV-2 after mild and severe COVID-19 infection and analysis of IgG non-responders

Prevalence of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection: a narrative review

Lack of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in a large cohort of previously infected persons

Pathogens and host immunity in the ancient human oral cavity

Performance assessment of SARS-CoV-2 PCR assays developed by WHO referral laboratories