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Periodontal Disease is a Silent Disease
November 16, 2008 in General Health, dental hygiene, periodontal disease | Tags: advanced periodontitis, advanced stages, attachment loss, bacteria, bacterial toxins, bad breath, barnacles, bone, brushing, dental evaluation, dental office, dental visits, dentist, evaluation, floss, flossing, gingivitis, gum infection, gum inflammation, gum pockets, gum recession, gums, healthy gums, hygienist, inflamed, long in the tooth, loose teeth, mobile teeth, periodontal disease, periodontal ligaments, pink and firm, plaque buildup, pockets, professional dental cleaning, puffy gums bleeding gums, receding gums, red and puffy, rough surfaces, sensitive to cold, silent disease, susceptible to decay, swollen gums, tartar, teeth fall out, tender gums, tissue, toxins, treatment, unhealthy gums, unpleasant odor | Leave a comment
Knowing all that we know about Periodontal Disease (PD), how is it that 75-80% of us are affected by it?
Periodontal Disease is a silent disease in that it does not hurt (until advanced stages) and can go undetected in its earliest stage. Too often, people don’t go to the dentist regularly and start to build up plaque between their teeth. If the person is not a flosser, the plaque starts to accumulate more and more between their teeth. The once healthy gums, pink and firm around each tooth, now start to become inflamed between the back teeth where the plaque is building up. With gingivitis now established, the bacteria residing in the plaque produce toxins that start to break down the attachment of the gums to the teeth. The body’s inflammatory response is to bring increased amounts of blood to those areas to fight off the toxins. The gums become puffy, tender and swollen, and can bleed easily with brushing and flossing (not likely any flossing is occurring in this person).
A cleaning at the dental office at this point could start to turn things around. Flossing and brushing would go a long way toward health. Of course, this person doesn’t have any pain, and is unaware of this situation.
Periodontitis sets in as the plaque by-products, the toxins, destroy the tissues that hold the teeth in the bone. The attachment of the gum to the root surfaces start to be destroyed and pockets develop between the gum and the teeth. The gums pull away from the teeth and recede. More plaque is now accumulating below the gum line in these pockets. Some of the plaque on the root surfaces is hardening into tartar. Like the barnacles forming on the piers at the ocean, the tartar is rough and more plaque sticks to the rough surfaces and become hardened. As the disease progresses, bone under the gums that anchors the teeth begins to dissolve away. The person may notice an unpleasant odor coming from their mouth – bad breath. The gums may bleed when brushing. At this point, with less bone anchoring the teeth and less gum tissue covering the roots, the teeth appear longer and are sensitive to cold and are more susceptible to decay.
In advanced periodontitis, the toxins deep in the pockets continue to destroy the periodontal ligaments and bone, causing the teeth to lose more support. Unless treated, the affected teeth become more mobile and may fall out.
The key, is to not let this all get started. Should you find yourself progressing down the path described above, work hard on brushing and flossing and get into the dental office for evaluation and necessary treatment. You do not have to lose teeth to periodontal disease!
Periodontal Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease
November 12, 2008 in General Health, dental hygiene, periodontal disease | Tags: Alzheimer's Disease, attachment loss, bone loss, central nervous system, chronic periodontal disease, gum infection, gum inflammation, infection, inflammation in the brain, periodontal disease, peripheral infection, systematic disease | Leave a comment
Periodontal Disease (gum inflammation, infection, bone and attachment loss) and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)-
Is there a link? The exact mechanisms responsible for the cause and development of AD have yet to be identified, but inflammation within the brain is believed to play a key role. As reported in Alzheimer’s Dement, July 2008, peripheral infection/inflammation may affect the inflammatory state of the central nervous system. Chronic Periodontal Disease is a prevalent peripheral infection that has been associated recently with several systematic diseases (see previous blogs) including AD. These studies suggest that chronic periodontal disease may potentially contribute to the clinical onset and progression of Alheimer’s Disease. As chronic periodontal disease is a treatable and controllable infection (not curable), it may well be a readily modifiable risk factor for Alzheimer’s Disease. Establishing and maintaining healthy gums now, could lessen your risk of developing this awful disease.
