What Is Periodontal Disease?
Periodontal (gum)
disease is a chronical bacterial infection that affects the gums
and bone supporting the teeth. 70-90% of adults have some form
of periodontal disease. People are rarely aware they have
periodontal disease because there is no pain or noticeable
symptoms.
Periodontal disease begins when the bacteria in plaque ( the
sticky, colorless film that constantly forms on your teeth )
causes the gums to become inflamed. In the mildest form of the
disease, gingivitis, the gums redden, swell and bleed easily.
Gingivitis is often caused by inadequate oral hygiene and is
reversible with professional treatment and good oral home care.
Untreated gingivitis can advance to periodontitis. Toxins
produced by the bacteria in plaque irritate the gums. These
toxins stimulate a chronic inflammatory response in which the
body in essence turns on itself, and the tissues and bone that
support the teeth are broken down and destroyed. Gums separate
from the teeth, forming pockets ( spaces between the teeth and
gums ) that become infected. As the disease progresses, the
pockets deepen and more gum tissue and bone are destroyed.
Eventually, teeth can become loose and may have to be removed.
In fact periodontal disease, not cavities, is the leading cause
of adult tooth loss.
Periodontitis is often noticed by
patients their 40s or 50s, but the first signs of the disease
can be seen by a dentist far earlier.
New findings show how seriously micro-organisms in the mouth can
affect the health of a person as a whole. The damage caused by
the gum inflammation, which befalls one out of every two people,
is not just restricted therefore to the mouth.The
micro-organisms spread from the oral cavity to the bloodstream
through small wounds. This way they are taken to almost every
part of the body - and can cause serious trouble:
-
heart illness
-
stroke
-
pneumonia
-
as well as premature births
Diabetes gets worse, artificial heart valves and hip joints are
at risk of infection. Oral bacteria can also collect in normal
heart valves and blood vessels.
Parodontitis treatment of
ARS DENTAL
-
With the help of the family doctor we ascertain whether
general illnesses are involved in the development of the
periodontitis.
-
After a thorough initial examination we draw up a treatment
plan.
-
Old restorations (crowns, fillings) are renewed, and if
necessary, in order to allow the gum inflamation to recede
temporary restorations are fitted until the parodontitis
treatment has been successfully completed.
-
Repeated thorough removal of plaque and tartar, professional
cleaning, gentle scaling and root planning
(is carried out with the aid of ultrasound),
we use intraoral power jet and polishing too, on behalf of
achievement the smouth surface and hereby retarded the
adhesion of plaque.
-
With detailed, repeated training in oral hygiene techniques,
we enable you to optimize your oral hygiene at home.
-
Nutrition advice
-
Surgical measures on individual teeth or groups of teeth are
only used after conservative methods / local antibiotic
therapy have been applied.
-
Regular check-ups and prophylaxis sessions at suitable
individual intervals enable us to preserve the improved
state of oral health ( recall ).
-
Any projecting fillings and crowns must be replaced as
required, because this is where plaque deposits are
particularly prone to form; such locations can also not be
reached very easily with the tooth-brush
-
Additional Therapies
Wound healing can be improved by using adjunctive therapies such
as antimicrobial photodynamic therapy, which is able to gently
but effectively remove dangerous bacteria and germs from your
mouth without pills or chirurgie. Antimicrobial photodynamic
therapy. APDT involves two stages:
(i) professional cleaning of periodontal pockets to remove all
soft and hard deposits accumulating on your teeth and to reduce
the number of bacteria
(ii) the application of a blue dye (a so-called photosensitizer)
into the affected area, which causes a phototoxic reaction when
combined with laser light of a certain wavelength.
The molecules of the photosensitizer bind to the bacterial
membrane thus making the bacteria visible. The laser light
stimulates the production of active oxygen, which disrupts the
integrity of the bacterial membrane and thus destroys the
bacteria.
This therapy is painless and free of side effects. The
inflammation soon subsides as a normal oral flora is
re-established. If you follow our instructions for proper oral
hygiene and visit regularly for a dental check-up and
professional teeth cleaning, this therapy will be successful.
Photodynamic therapy, with its use of a non-toxic dye (photosensitizer) in combination with a low-intensity laser
light enabling singlet oxygen molecules to destroy bacteria,
also represents a treatment alternative for gum diseases,
alveolar ostitis and post-extraction pain.
A primary related concern for the
implantologist is
peri-implantitis, a condition in the region of the dental
implant involving soft-tissue inflammation (peri-implant
mucositis), bleeding, and suppuration, which can progress to
fairly rapid bone loss.
Photodynamic therapy offers the
implantologist a viable means for fighting periimplantitis.
