Periodontal disease, a common disease that goes unnoticed

Periodontics includes science that studies periodontal diseases, ie, the tissue that holds the tooth. Periodontal diseases are infectious diseases caused by bacteria, which affects about 90% of the population.

When periodontics done?

When gums become inflamed and reddened as a result of poor oral hygiene due to the attack of these bacteria, a reversible process called gingivitis occurs.

When this inflammation is chronic and it is concomitant with other factors such as snuff or diabetes, a progressive irreversible alveolar bone loss can occur that call periodontitis. This has an important genetic predisposition so always history must take into account the patient's family.

Because of this loss of bone, a pocket is formed around the tooth and the gum is maintained higher and the bone is lost. This bag becomes an important reservoir of food, so it is vital exhaustive hygiene besides frequent visits to the professional to do the maintenance of the area.

What is periodontics?

The periodontal treatment involves scaling and root surface. For the diagnosis of periodontal disease make a radiographic series, plus a selective probing of each tooth area in which we measure the distance from the gingival margin to the alveolar bone surrounding the piece to assess bone loss individualized for each zone.

The physiological distance from the gingival margin to the bone is 2-3mm. When this distance is greater, we speak of periodontal disease. Logically thinking, the greater the distance, the greater severity of the disease.

Periodontal treatment is therefore to thoroughly clean and smooth the surface adjacent to the bag that forms part both to remove plaque from inside to prevent easy adhesion back. After treatment left totally clean the bag and the surface of the flattened part, which reduces the accumulation of food for eliminating retention.

What kind of care should follow the patient once the periodontics?

Periodontal disease has the peculiarity that the patient who suffers needs a lifetime maintenance to prevent further bone loss to what we have already tried and detained. It is vitally important revisions of a maximum of six months, in which the patient comes to our clinic to perform their periodontal maintenance. It is necessary to individualize each case, since not all periodontal patients with the same severity of their disease, and patients will need rather than their maintenance every six months, they need three or four months.

How should we prevent periodontitis?

As I well detailed above, periodontal disease has a strong genetic predisposition, and this is impossible to avoid. While there is exacerbating factors which if we can avoid (snuff, poor hygiene, etc.). If a patient has a history of periodontal disease, it is important to keep your dental often reviews for your dentist to detect it on time and take steps to do so.