Periodontal diseases are divided into gingivitis and periodontitis. Gingivitis is the earliest and easiest stage of periodontal disease to treat. If gingivitis is ignored, periodontitis can develop, with the final stage of tooth loss. What are the causes and symptoms of periodontal disease? What is the treatment?

Periodontal diseasesis a group of diseases that covers the complex of tissues surrounding the neck and root of the tooth. It consists of the periodontium, alveolar process and the gum. The periodontium is an apparatus that nourishes the tooth and fixes it in the socket.

Periodontal diseases are divided into gingivitis and periodontitis. Gingivitis is the earliest and easiest stage of periodontal disease to treat. If gingivitis is ignored, it can spread to the tissues that hold the teeth, such as the collagen fibers that connect the teeth to the bone, and to the surrounding bone. When it comes to this state, we talk about periodontitis, which is a serious condition. Untreated periodontal disease leads to the destruction of the tissues surrounding the tooth. The gums retract, the necks and roots of the teeth are exposed. Teeth without support, start to move, dislocate and finally fall out.

Periodontal diseases - causes and risk factors

Periodontitis develops on the basis of long-term and untreated gingivitis. It is an irreversible process. In addition to the gums, the lesions include the bone and ligaments of the tooth.

Other causes of periodontal diseases are:

  • bruxism
  • malocclusion
  • incorrectly made fillings and prosthetic restorations
  • diabetes
  • metabolic disorders
  • mechanical damage to the gums, e.g. by eating hard, brushing the teeth too hard.
  • frequent vomiting - means too much acid in the mouth and this leads to the digestion of the mucosa. Deep pitting is formed, gums become weak
  • drugs administered to patients with epilepsy, calcium channel blockers, i.e. preparations used to combat cardiovascular diseases, antibiotics (cephalosporins)
  • vitamin deficiencies - mainly from group B and C

Periodontal disease affects not only the elderly, who have a slow course, but alsoyoung people, even before the age of 30. Then we are talking about an aggressive form, in which the destruction of bone tissue can reach 2 mm within 3 months, which is often associated with a defect in the patient's immune system.

Periodontal diseases - symptoms

Inflammation may develop after just 3-4 days without removing the plaque. Then the gums become:

The first disturbing symptom of inflammation of the tissues surrounding the teeth is bleeding from the gums during washing or during a dental examination, in the form of probing the gingival groove.

  • tender
  • swollen
  • red
  • gums prone to bleeding while washing and eating even not very hard foods
  • dental neck hypersensitivity to hot and cold
  • dryness, disgust and bad breath
  • lowering of tooth necks
  • loosening of teeth

Upon seeing bleeding gums, the patient starts to clean his teeth less well. It seems that by stopping cleaning, we will allow diseased gums to heal. You can't do anything worse. When we brush our teeth less, the vicious circle closes. Thicker and thicker plaque is formed, bacterial toxins irritate the gum, which is why it bleeds even more.

Worth knowing

Periodontal disease - complications

Periodontal disease affects many systemic complications. Maybe:

  • accelerate the development of atherosclerosis, which increases the likelihood of a stroke
  • worsen the course of diabetes
  • stimulate the development of respiratory diseases
  • there is even some oncogenic effect

These links are mainly related to the existence of periodontal pockets, i.e. open sources of infection, as well as the production of inflammatory cytokines by the body in response to bacteria that are found in plaque and supra- and subgingival calculus.

Periodontal diseases - treatment

If your gums become inflamed, see your dentist who will first remove the gingival calculus, plaque and plaque.

If gingivitis occurs, anti-inflammatory treatment (similar to gingivitis) is first applied to remove the cause of the gingivitis. The next stage is repair and regeneration treatments for damaged periodontal structures, removing the effects of the disease. These include, among others. curettage, gingivectomy or flap surgery. A specialist periodontologist deals with all this.

Periodontal disease - how to prevent it?

Please visit regularlya dentist, and in the event of disturbing symptoms, go to a periodontist - a doctor dealing with periodontal diseases. Of course, it is also important to use proper oral hygiene by maintaining a good technique of brushing your teeth and using dental floss

Hygienic procedures performed professionally in dental offices, such as scaling and sandblasting, are also necessary.

Important

Periodontal diseases especially dangerous for pregnant women

Frequent food consumption and vomiting in the early stages of pregnancy destroy tooth enamel and aggravate carious lesions. Additionally, at the end of the third trimester, pregnancy gingivitis develops, which can progress to more dangerous periodontitis. In the course of untreated, chronic inflammations in the mouth, bacterial toxins may spread to the blood vessels, which are transferred along with the blood to the fetus. In extreme cases, generalized infection leads to premature birth or miscarriage. Therefore, a pregnant woman should visit the dentist. - There should be at least two such visits. The first one is right at the beginning of pregnancy. This visit is aimed at examining the oral cavity, possibly sanation or tooth extraction, which can also be performed during pregnancy at a specific time. The second visit after 4-6 months - says the news agency Newseria Lifestyle, Dr. Ewa Franczak, dentist of the 1st degree in general dentistry from NZOZ Prima-Dent in Warsaw.

Untreated gingivitis in a pregnant woman may lead to miscarriage

Source: x-news.pl/lifestyle.newseria.pl

Category:

Dentistry and Orthodontics