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Understanding Periodontal Disease
Mar 11th, 2010Understanding your Periodontal Disease
q Periodontal disease is a chronic bacterial infection that results in the destruction of tissue and bone support caused by the body’s immune and inflammatory response.
q Early diagnosis of periodontal disease is critical for favorable treatment outcome.
q Periodontal disease is never cured, therefore proper treatment and continued maintenance is necessary to maintain a healthy oral environment.
q Risk factors of Periodontal Disease include: heredity, diabetes, smoking, stress, nutrition, medications causing dry mouth, poor oral hygiene, hormonal changes, connective tissue diseases, faulty dentistry, previous history of active periodontal disease and immunocompromised patients.
How Periodontal Disease Affects your Total Health
1.) Heart Disease:
q Patients have a certain sequence of genes that predispose them to cardiovascular disease. That same sequence of genes predisposes patients to periodontal disease.
q As part of the normal immune system response your liver produces C-Reactive Proteins in the presents of injury, inflammation and infection.
q High levels of C-Reactive proteins are associated with high incidence of cardiovascular disease, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
2.) Diabetes:
q Diabetes is the #1 condition that increases susceptibility to Periodontal disease.
q With periodontal disease and diabetes you are managing two chronic conditions.
q Periodontal disease can cause an increase in insulin resistance, which will result in high blood sugar levels.
q Blood sugar levels being low can also worsen periodontal disease.
q Poor blood sugar control results in worsening of pocket depths therefore causing an increased risk of bone loss.
3.) Adverse Pregnancy Events:
q During pregnancy, women experience a lot of hormonal changes. These hormonal changes increase their risk for pregnancy gingivitis. It is extremely important throughout your pregnancy to maintain proper homecare and routine dental visits to try and keep gingivitis stable and prevent it from developing into periodontal disease.
q Pregnant women with periodontal disease may be more likely to give birth to pre-term, low birth weight babies. Studies have shown that oral bacteria can cross the placenta and expose the fetus to infection, therefore increasing risk for low birth weight and or pre-term birth.
