What is periodontitis, features and symptoms of the disease, ways of prevention and treatment, expert advice

Very often, when you are at a dentist, you can hear a diagnosis like periodontitis.But what is it?

First of all, let's see what periodontium is.Periodont in Greek means "peri-" around and "odontos" - a tooth, that is, around the tooth.In general, periodontium is a group of tissues located in the slot-like space between the cement of the tooth root and the plate of the alveolus, in other words, periodontium is the connecting link by which the tooth is attached to the gum.

What is periodontitis?

Periodontitis is a disease that usually occurs as a result of a caries and pulpitis that is started or not treated in a timely manner, or as a result of an injury.For example, when you crack a very hard food or with strong pressure on the tooth, as a result of the habit of biting off various solid objects.

The disease is the next stage in the development of purulent infection in the apex of the tooth root after pulpitis.The inflammatory process develops quickly, depending on the way the infection has occurred, it can take not much time.The peculiarity and speed of development of periodontitis is also affected by how weak, or, conversely, the body is strong at the time of infection.It is clear that if the body only suffered a severe cold disease or food poisoning, then in such an organism the disease will develop at maximum speed.

Types of periodontitis

For etiological reasons this disease is divided into the following:

• infectious;
• is traumatic;
• drug;
• iatrogenic.

Infectious periodontitis may be due to untreated caries of , and then pulpitis, and be the result of previous poor-quality oral care.In turn - this disease is also divided into several species by the way of penetration into the tooth infection:

• interdental periodontitis is when the infection develops directly inside the tooth - the beginning of caries;
• extradental: the infection in the tooth has gotten because of the inflammatory process elsewhere.For example, diseases such as sinusitis or infectious bone disease, more commonly known to everyone as osteomyelitis or a host of other infectious diseases.

The traumatic type occurs due to some action.For example, when a person falls or hits a solid object, and also as a chronic injury resulting from biting off a solid object, for example, a wire or string.Such periodontitis, as a rule, develops very quickly with acute symptoms.

Medicamentous form, already from the name it is clear what arises from any medication.For example, in case of an unconscientious previous treatment of pulpitis, when a potent medicine has got into the periodontium, or any irritating materials, such as pins or cement, used for sealing.Also, medical periodontitis, may occur as a result of the allergic reaction of to any medication that was used to treat the tooth.

In children with milk teeth, this problem often appears due to the spread of infection from the inflamed pulp to the periodontium.

In the course of a pathological process in a diseased tooth, periodontitis is divided into:

• acute type, which is also subdivided into serous and purulent;
• chronic periodontitis is divided into fibrous, granulating and granulomatous;
• exacerbation of chronic periodontitis.

Symptoms of acute periodontitis

Acute periodontitis - this diagnosis is characterized by a strong, throbbing pain that does not stop for a long time.At the initial stage of this disease, a sick tooth most often just whines, pain is more pronounced when pressing on it.The localization of pain is determined in the place where the diseased tooth is located.After a certain period of time, the pain becomes more intense, pulsating.Most often this indicates that a purulent inflammatory process has already begun in the tooth.

There may be difficulty in opening the mouth due to soft tissue swelling.This also affects the general condition of the patient, has a headache , the body temperature rises to 37-38 degrees.At the same time on the X-ray, there will not yet be any significant changes in the periodontium.

Very often, as a result of a purulent inflammatory process, a lymph node reaction occurs, they increase in size, become harder, and when sensation occurs, pain sensations appear.The only way out with purulent periodontitis will be removal of all rotted tissues and cleaning the root canal with further sealing.If the tooth is badly damaged and already immobile, the best way is to remove the tooth.

Symptoms of serous and fibrous type

In case of serous acute illness, there will be no visible symptoms as such.The reaction of the lymph nodes will be absent, the general well-being will also not be particularly disturbed.In general, the patient will not feel bad, but the patient will be able to point a sick tooth.

Chronic fibrous periodontitis can occur as a result of an acute or chronic disease.This kind of periodontitis basically flows calmly , in individual cases, when pressed on the tooth, an unpleasant sensation may appear.To distinguish fibrous periodontitis from granulomatous and granulating periodontitis, you need to take an X-ray.In the dental picture, if it is fibrous periodontitis, there should be a noticeable widening of the periodontal gap around the apex of the root.Chronic fibrous periodontitis usually affects a previously treated tooth or one that was already sick.

Symptoms of chronic periodontitis

Chronic granulation of the type of the disease most often occurs without special symptoms, sometimes with pressure on the tooth itself you can feel unpleasant, painful sensations.Near the sick tooth with this diagnosis, purulent flux or, as it is also called, purulent fistula may form.When pressing with a blunt object, a purulent liquid starts to appear from it and a depression appears, which will not disappear immediately.When trying to feel the gum in the place where the patient's tooth is located, there may be a sharp pain.On the X-ray image of , the place of the inflammatory process of in the apex of the root will already be noticeable.

Chronic granulomatous periodontitis in its clinical symptoms is very similar to the previous species, only in this case the tooth can be without a carious area, and the decomposition of the pulp will be observed.

A favorable outcome of such a diagnosis can be considered timely treatment with the transition to an easier stage of periodontitis.If, in this case, too, do not perform treatment, the result may be the root cyst of the tooth , and then a complete tooth extraction is necessary.An X-ray picture of a granulomatous disease will clearly show the rarefaction of bone tissue of a rounded shape, sometimes even one can see the destruction of the tooth tissue in the apex region.

In case of exacerbation of chronic periodontitis painful sensitivity of the tooth may appear again upon pressing on it, but the pain will not be as severe as when it is combined with a purulent flux.After a while, the symptoms become worse, the pain begins to build up, the lymph nodes can also react to the inflammatory process.When examining a sick tooth with such a diagnosis, there is a deep carious area, there is no sharp pain when probing.

The tooth does not react to temperature changes, however, palpation of the location of the diseased tooth may give rise to unpleasant sensations.On an X-ray, exacerbation of chronic periodontitis is a manifestation of a picture with a decrease in the sharpness of the boundaries of rarefaction of bone tissue and the appearance of new inflammatory purulent foci.

Periodontitis as a disease is a consequence of untreated pulpitis and, consequently, the penetration of various pathogens through the root canal into periodontium.The infected infection causes a defensive reaction of the body and the inflammatory process begins.The periodontal cleft in the tooth is filled with interstitial fluid, which, when chewing food, plays the role of a shock absorber, thereby smoothing the sharp loads on the tooth.In the periodontitis-affected tooth, fluid can no longer perform its function as , accumulating there, it sweats.And the existing outflow through the root canal makes the pain with periodontitis not so strong, but at the same time there is a further development of chronic periodontitis.

In order to determine at what stage chronic periodontitis is, X-rays can not be avoided.