Monthly Archives: September 2015

Background

Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease that affects the tissues that surround and support the teeth, also known as the periodontium. The disease beings with plaque that stays on your teeth longer than two or three days which eventually hardens under your gum line as tartar or calculus. This initial state of irritation and inflammation is known as Gingivitis. As the ongoing inflammation causes pockets filled with bacteria to develop between your gums and teeth, the disease progresses to Chronic Periodontitis. Finally, these pockets become deeper as more bacteria accumulate and eventually advance under your gum tissue causing bone loss. This final stage is known as Aggressive Periodontitis.

Currently, dentists use probes which are inserted into the pocket between the gums and the teeth to measure the pocket depth. Dental X-rays are used to check for bone loss in patients that seem to have areas of increased pocket depth. This measurement of pocket depth is then correlated to a severity level of the disease, where 1-2mm is mild, 3-4mm is moderate, and greater than 5 mm is severe periodontitis.