Periodontal Disease Treatment

What Is Periodontal Therapy and How Is It Performed?

Oct 01, 2020

The most common cause of tooth loss globally is periodontal disease, which is a biofilm mediated chronic infectious disease. The WHO has reported that bleeding gums and tartar are results of not maintaining good oral hygiene. Gum disease usually begins as gingivitis before progressing to periodontitis. The condition is prevalent in adults from most parts of the world, but the advanced periodontal disease affects about 10 to 15 percent of the adult population.

How Is Periodontitis Treated?

The treatment for periodontitis is primarily directed towards reducing pathogens embedded in the biofilm of the sub- gingiva. Non-surgical periodontal therapy has proven as a sufficient remedy to improve pocket depths below 6 mm. If treatment is needed for deeper pockets over 6 mm, surgery produces more significant depth reduction and gain from clinical attachment. Chronic periodontal disease is successfully treated by NSPT to maintain adequate plaque control.

What Are the Risk Factors Associated with Periodontal Disease?

Periodontal Disease has more than one risk factor associated with its initiation and progress. The risk factors associated are microbial and host-related, besides environmental and acquired factors. The presence of poor oral hygiene, persistent stress, uncontrolled diabetes, and habits like smoking or genetic susceptibility are also some of the risk factors that can influence periodontal therapy’s long-term outcomes. Evaluating these factors and developing therapeutic strategies to modify them becomes an integral part of NS PT.

The Complications of Not Receiving Periodontal Therapy

Periodontal disease begins as a painless condition of the gums and is known as gingivitis in the initial stages. The infection is entirely preventable by maintaining excellent oral hygiene. It progresses to periodontal disease only after people neglect dental health and visit their dentist every six months for exams and cleanings.

Dentists detect periodontal disease in its earliest stages and can begin preventive treatments to overcome this condition. However, if left untreated and allowed to progress, periodontal disease can affect the jawbone to cause tooth loss eventually. The bacteria from plaque and tartar buildup can enter the bloodstream to cause strokes, heart disease, respiratory disease, and cancer. As can be seen, periodontal disease can cause several complications if proper therapy from an experienced dentist is not obtained in the early stages.

What Kind of Periodontal Care Is Recommended by Dentists?

The Anchorage dentist recommends maintaining excellent oral hygiene, and practicing the following is the best periodontal care for people affected by this issue. Patients are recommended:

  • Brushing their teeth twice a day for two minutes each with fluoride toothpaste.
  • Flossing at least once a day, paying particular attention to floss between the teeth and remove any plaque buildup untouched when brushing.
  • Using an antibacterial mouthwash to rinse the mouth.
  • Visiting the dentist for six-monthly checkups and cleanings help remove plaque and tartar buildup to eliminate periodontitis.

People affected by advanced periodontitis and have deep pockets on their gums are recommended flap surgery, which improves the situation.

Mechanical non-surgical and surgical therapy continue to dominate treatment approaches for periodontal treatment. However, its deficiencies to entirely eliminate periodontal pathogens from the soft and hard tissues within the niches in the oral cavity continue to pose challenges because the pathogens can lead to reinfection. To overcome these challenges in conventional periodontal therapy, the use of other agents to systemically, locally, or topically eliminate the pathogens has become an indispensable treatment modality. Newer approaches are focusing on how to effectively modulate the responses of the host to lessen the degree of tissue destruction and help periodontal tissue to regenerate to a healthy state.

Antibiotics are also provided to deal with progressive periodontitis and suppress the pathogens, especially in the deep pockets or residing within the periodontal tissues where mechanical therapies are proving ineffective. Specific pathogens are reported as challenging to eradicate with non-surgical treatments, and therefore dentists must use systemic antimicrobial therapy for efficient management of periodontal conditions. The conditions may include severe or acute infections, recurrent and refractory cases.

This information should make people realize it is beneficial to prevent periodontitis from progress by maintaining good oral hygiene and visiting their dentist regularly for checkups and exams. However, people already affected by this issue can also benefit from periodontal therapy offered by experienced dentists by attending frequent dental appointments to avoid the potential risks associated with this condition.

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