Periodontal Pocket: An Ecologic Niche Promoting the Germination of a Plant Seed

During a scaling and root planing procedure, a large, actively germinating seed was removed from a deep periodontal pocket. The histologic examination confirmed that it was a germinating tomato seed (Solanum lycopersicum). Since all seeds inside their fruits are in a quiescent stage, this seed was quiescent when the patient ate the tomato. Therefore, the germination occurred inside the periodontal pocket. This case led to a very interesting biologic finding: A periodontal pocket is not only a favorable environment for the development of periodontal microbiota, it is also an ecologic niche that can promote the germination and development of a plant seed.