A Comprehensive Review of Periodontitis

Periodontitis (less commonly known as pyorrhea) is a cluster of diseases that affect the tissues that support and surround teeth. These tissues are collectively known as the periodontium. The disease is caused by microbes that grow on the tooth surface. another feature of the disease is the fact that once these microbes establish themselves, the immune response by the body tends to be over-aggressive, which can lead to tissue loss and other problems. Typically this disease is diagnosed using a multi-faceted approach, which includes using hand instruments to measure the depth of periodontal pockets and taking X-ray films of the patients mouth to determine bone loss.

The most recent classification system for periodontal diseases was developed in 1999 and is broken into seven major categories. The only reversible category is the first category. All of the subsequent categories are considered a destructive disease because damage caused by the disease cannot be undone and is permanent. The seven categories, in order, are as follows; (1) Gingivitis, (2) Chronic Periodontitis, (3) Aggressive Periodontitis, (4) Periodontitis as a manifestation of a systemic disease, (5) Necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis/periodontitis, (6) Abscesses of the periodontium, and (7) Combined periodontic-endodontic lesions. These seven categories are used to diagnose specific patients, as well as refer to a group of patients that suffer from one of the above conditions. Periodontitis is considered local if less than thirty percent of the mouth is affected, and generalized if more than thirty percent of the mouth is affected.

Tooth surfaces are referred to by various names in dentistry, including mesial, distal, buccal, and lingual. If you drew a midline t...

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