Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease caused by bacterial biofilms on the surface of the dental root. Because of irreversible destruction of the periodontal tissue that supports each tooth, it’s the primary cause of tooth loss.
Active periodontal therapy (APT), include non-surgical debridement and surgical periodontal therapy. Both require continued supportive periodontal therapy (SPT) for maintenance. It’s a process that allows teeth to be preserved, if accurate diagnosis has been made.
The development of diagnostic or predictive models determining a treatment guide and prognosis is part of the ongoing trials and research of the periodontal sector.
In 1999, the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) classified the gum disease periodontitis as either chronic, or aggressive, with this classification widely used since then.
To overcome the limitations of categorising this worldwide and prevalent disease, a global workshop was held, and the AAP, and European Federation of Periodontology revised the classification.
In 2018, periodontitis was officially afforded a multidimensional staging and grading system.
Like it’ll win you a prize.
Periodontal disease is indeed no prize; and chock-full of surprises.
The basis of all periodontal therapy, whether laser or surgical, is based on the precision of the diagnosis across the treatment protocol. Teeth that are considered to have a poor response prognosis are extracted. Sometimes other extractions occur for prosthetic preparation requirements, or as a restorative function treatment.
Stabilised periodontal tissue from APT initiates SPT in the preservation of the treated teeth.
The most recent revolution in periodontal therapy is the reassessment of the anti-inflammatory compound vitamin K2.
Not only does it clean up calcium deposits and redirect that mineral intake to bones and teeth, it has recently been discovered that vitamin K2 remineralises dental structures, repairs cavities, and reverses and rejuvenates the damaged soft tissue of gum disease.
If periodontal disease considers you not its friend, but rather rheumatoid arthritis, cardiac issues and bowel disease, then vitamins K (aka K1) and K2 are your smart choice for BFFs.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend, as once expressed as a Sanskrit proverb, and to personal secretary John Colville by Winston Churchill on the evening of 21st July, 1941. Hitler was invading invasion the (then) Soviet Union the very next day.
What can be achieved in terms of tooth and gum health with a diet rich in vitamins K and K2, is akin to winning a war.
And what a war it is if it occupies unchecked.
Firstly, the mouth is in painful ruin. Gums are tender and inflamed. As it progresses, there is tooth movement and bone loss in the jaw.
The oral cavity loses its healthy microbiome balance. Harmful bacteria get easy access to the stomach and digestive tract, with the bloodstream in its sights.
Digestive flora is massively compromised from the continual onslaught of pathogens from the still-raging periodontitis, now affecting the mechanics of chewing and therefore dietary choices. The entire system is beginning its decline.
This is the war that happens when understanding the language between your mouth and every part and organ of your body, fails.
Most recently, Rice University computational biologist Vicky Yao found traces of periodontal-associated bacteria in the collected samples of rheumatoid arthritis patients. Science Translational Medicine published the study’s confirmation of the interrelationship of arthritis flare-ups and periodontitis.
New publications from a European research project examine the connection between Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and periodontal disease. We know that the mouth affects the gut – and vice versa.
The study shows that patients with IBD have more periodontitis, and fewer teeth than those without IBD. What was also identified is the aggravated intestinal tract with higher activity present in patients with both IBD and periodontitis, in comparison to non-IBD patients without oral health issues.
A 2019 study conducted by researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Centre, an independent, non-profit scientific institute, with scientists from Sichuan University in Chengdu, China lead to the discovery of a new type of cell.
Found in the epithelial tissue of the periodontium, it helps protect against the harmful bacteria responsible for gum disease, and revived the idea that our immune system is key to this disease.
What makes perfect sense about this connection. is that both this oral and this bowel disease can be considered a very strong, overreaction of the immune system, because theoretically, it’s against a relatively mild bacterial trigger.
Instead, the immune system attacks itself.
The oral health of patients with Crohn’s disease was even more affected. And they lost more teeth than the ulcerative colitis patients.
Wow. Who would you choose to be, really.
Other than the person with K1 and K2 as their BFFs.
And BMs that don’t affect their smile.
With a healthy heart that understands that it’s not only metaphorically, but always in the mouth.
