How does periodontal disease/periodontitis develop?
Bleeding gums are often the first sign of periodontal disease. The gums become dark red (instead of pale pink when healthy).
Food particles that accumulate in the gum pockets, along with oral bacteria, form dental plaque, which eventually turns into hard tartar. This can already lead to the first inflammation of the gums (gingivitis). If not treated in time, the “pocket” between the tooth and the gum becomes deeper and deeper. From a depth of 3.5 mm it is called periodontal disease. But that’s just the beginning. If left untreated, tartar develops deeper and deeper along the edge of the tooth, leading to loss of the jawbone and gums. Teeth begin to loosen. In the front teeth, the so-called “black triangles” appear between the teeth because there is no longer gingiva covering the neck of the teeth. W.If left untreated, this means in almost all cases tooth loss. But long before tooth loss occurs, unpleasant side effects appear, such as necks of teeth sensitive to cold and/or heat or the inability to chew harder foods (apples, nuts, hard bread, meat, raw vegetables) because the teeth are loose.
What is the best way to increase your chances of keeping all your teeth into old age? Through good oral hygiene at home and regular professional dental cleanings.
How is periodontal disease or periodontitis treated?
Superficial gingivitis can be treated by specific oral hygiene measures, such as proper brushing of the teeth twice a day (preferably with the “modified low technique”), daily use of dental floss (and possibly also interdental brushes and/or an oral irrigator) and regular and professional use. dental cleanings (at least twice a year, but in cases of periodontal disease up to 4 times a year). It is important to remove plaque in any case, otherwise it turns into hard stone (tartar), which provides bacteria with an optimal habitat. If necessary, old fillings and dentures should also be replaced if they are leaking and provide good opportunities for bacteria to multiply.
Sometimes the inflammation of the gums and periodontium is so advanced that professional dental cleaning is no longer sufficient to reverse it. In this case, it is necessary to clean the gum pockets. It can only be removed from the depths of the resulting gingival pockets using hand instruments or special devices (such as the Vector®).
With the “Vector Pro® ” device (from Dürr Dental) used in our dental practice, we can gently treat periodontal disease: cleaning and smoothing tooth root surfaces, removing inflamed tissue from gum pockets, and killing bacteria through ultrasound without damaging the gums and gum pockets. Unlike other ultrasonic devices, such as conventional tartar removal devices, the Vector® does not rotate laterally, but vertically. This transfers energy to a cleaning fluid that gently cleans the root surface without mechanically attacking the tooth. This procedure is much more pleasant for the patient than traditional cleaning with hand instruments. It also prevents tooth root hypersensitivity that can result from regular scaling of tartar.
During the treatment of periodontal disease, the gum pockets are cleaned and freed of bacteria and concretions by a special device (Vector pro from Dürr).
In the past, in the treatment of advanced periodontal disease, the gum used to be opened for cleaning. Such invasive measures are not necessary in our practice. We treat advanced cases of periodontal disease by combining two treatment measures:
Using our Vector® device
Use of a bacteriological test to determine the germs present.
We can then administer the appropriate antibiotic.
Risks of
untreated periodontal disease/periodontitis that is not recognized in time
Inflammation of the gums, bleeding gums and receding gums (effects of periodontitis) are, together with tooth decay, the most widespread oral diseases affecting millions of people worldwide. If left untreated, the disease almost always results in tooth loss. Four to five times more teeth are lost due to periodontal disease than to caries.
Scientific studies also show a clear connection between periodontal disease and the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke . The risk of miscarriages and premature births may also increase significantly. In people with a weakened immune system, periodontal disease can also promote pneumonia or other respiratory diseases.
Gums and heart: therapy against oral bacteria also protects arteries (November 5, 2013 article, Süddeutsche Zeitung).
When bacteria invade the gums, teeth and jaw, they can also affect the heart. American physicians have demonstrated for the first time a direct relationship between the progression of periodontitis and arteriosclerosis. If the dental disease was successfully treated, within three years it also slowed down the hardening of the arteries, the researchers write in the journal Jama. Therefore, it is important to treat periodontal infections early so that the inflammation does not spread throughout the body.
The study included 420 men and women with an average age of 68 years who were being treated for periodontitis. Over a three-year period, the researchers took a total of 5,008 samples from the gum pockets. They analyzed them by DNA testing to determine the presence of eleven types of bacteria that are involved in the development of dental disease. Ultrasound measurements of both carotid arteries of each subject provided information on changes in the wall thickness of these blood vessels and, therefore, on the extent of arteriosclerosis. If the symptoms of the disease in the mouth improved during the study period, the carotid arteries also became less narrowed.
The difference in wall thickening between patients with great and poor success in the treatment of their periodontitis was up to 0.1 millimeters. It seems small, but other studies have shown that such a large calcification of the blood vessels increases the risk of a heart attack by 2.3 times.
Better safe than sorry!
Through proper and consistent oral hygiene, as well as regular and professional dental cleaning, the development of gingivitis, bleeding and receding gums and tooth loss can be prevented.
Take your health into your own hands. To not only keep your teeth and gums healthy, but also increase your overall well-being, we recommend taking nutritional supplements.
in addition to a healthy diet . In the Suplemento health magazine you will find many health tips and information on orthomolecular substances.
