Periodontitis is a chronic inflammation that occurs in the periodontal tissues, including the gums, periodontal ligament, dental bone and alveolar bone, mostly developed from long-standing gingivitis. It includes periodontitis in adults, periodontitis in childbearing adolescents, and rapidly progressive periodontitis.
The main symptoms of periodontitis: including gum bleeding and inflammation, periodontal pocket formation, alveolar bone resorption and tooth loosening and displacement four typical symptoms.
1, adult periodontitis is the most common, often involving most teeth in the whole mouth, a few patients only occur in a group of teeth (such as front teeth) or individual teeth. Localized gums are bright red or dark red, bleed easily, and have mostly daily odor. These symptoms are sometimes obvious and sometimes disappear, and the duration of the disease is long, up to 10 years or more; most patients may have different degrees of periodontal pus and food embedment at the onset of the disease. In severe cases, the roots of the teeth are exposed, the teeth are loosened and displaced, the bite is weak, sensitive to temperature, persistent dull pain or severe pain, and some may have acute periodontal abscesses.
2, adolescent periodontitis gum inflammation degree is light, periodontal tissue destruction is serious, often forming deep periodontal pockets, alveolar bone resorption is rapid.
3. Rapidly progressive periodontitis has a wide range of onset, rapid progress, severe destruction, and even weight loss, depression and general discomfort and other systemic symptoms, and some patients have tooth loss within a short period of time.
The treatment of periodontitis mainly focuses on eliminating the causes, enhancing the health of periodontal tissue, and preventing the continued development of inflammation and atrophy, and is divided into four stages.
The first stage: the basic treatment stage, using the conventional treatment of periodontal disease, to remove or control the inflammation and pathogenic factors. This includes oral self-cleaning, extraction of teeth with little retention value, supragingival scaling, subgingival scraping to remove plaque and tartar, selection of antibacterial drugs to control inflammation, and biting. adjustment, etc.
The second stage: periodontal surgery and fixation of loose teeth, usually starts 2-4 weeks after the first stage of treatment, after the periodontal inflammation is basically controlled. Surgical removal of diseased tissues, restoration of periodontal shape and function, and periodontal splinting or endodontic implantation of loose teeth.
The third stage: permanent restorative treatment, generally 2-3 months after periodontal surgery; mainly includes restoration of missing teeth, permanent splinting and orthodontic treatment of food impaction, and also postoperative medication to strengthen the body and teeth.
Phase 4: Maintenance treatment phase. Under the guidance of the doctor, learn the self-maintenance methods of oral hygiene, and regularly review and retreat every 3-6 months to consolidate the treatment effect.
The keys to successful treatment of periodontitis are.
The first is a thorough treatment plan and meticulous treatment by the doctor.
The second is the patient’s adherence to good self-plaque control.
The latter is more important than the former, otherwise the doctor’s work will be half-hearted and the disease will reoccur.
It is worth noting that periodontitis should not be mistaken for a fire. Some people experience swollen and painful gums and bleeding teeth when they are tired, cold, nervous, poorly rested or have a spicy diet. The people often think that it is “fire”, this claim is not scientific. In fact, most of these symptoms appear because bacteria cause periodontal tissue inflammation, usually slow to destroy, no obvious symptoms; when the body resistance to decline, endocrine disruption, or in the face of stimulation or stress, bacteria waiting for the opportunity to expand the periodontal invasion, there are obvious symptoms. If not thoroughly treated. The symptoms may disappear after a few days if some “fire-clearing” drugs or tonics are taken, but if one mistakenly thinks that it is better, the development of periodontal disease may be condoned. The reason is that chronic periodontitis is a symptom of a periodontal disease that comes and goes. Therefore, when a tooth becomes uncomfortable or painful, it should be seen promptly to avoid delaying treatment.
What is the difference between gingivitis and periodontitis?
Gingivitis and periodontitis are 2 different stages of periodontal disease. If the infection is confined to the tooth limit and does not invade the deep periodontal tissues, it is called flapitis at this time, and the tartar formed is more constituted. Enamel night cover on the surface of the crown, highly calcified, is the hardest part of the tooth, translucent, milky white or almost yellow, which is related to the degree of calcification, the higher the degree of calcification, the more transparent the enamel, the low degree of calcification of the enamel of milk teeth, so milky white. Dentin is located on the surface of the tooth root, under normal circumstances, the root is covered by the gum, the gum can not be seen, only when the gum shrinks, the root is exposed, the yellowish bone is revealed, its hardness is similar to the bone. Dentin is the main body of the tooth, located in the inner layer of enamel and bone, yellowish in color, less hard than enamel and slightly harder than bone. The central part of the dentin is a cavity, called the pulp cavity, which is similar in shape to the tooth body but significantly smaller, and contains the soft and lucid tooth storage tissue, including abundant cells, blood vessels, nerves and lymphatic vessels, and a small hole (apical foramen) at the root tip that connects the pulp to the surrounding tissue and enamel.
What should I do if periodontitis occurs in the elderly?
Periodontitis is one of the main causes of tooth loss. If the elderly can maintain the integrity of their teeth, it will facilitate nutritional intake, maintain facial appearance and physical and mental health, so they should also be treated actively after suffering from periodontitis. The treatment is mainly based on whether the patient needs it and whether his or her health condition allows it. For those who are too old and have poor health condition, conservative treatment can be the main treatment, and try to choose simple and effective methods to keep the patient pain-free and maintain the function of the teeth, such as scaling, root planing, jaw adjustment, periodontal pocket medication, etc. In daily life, it is necessary to strengthen oral hygiene maintenance, especially for those who wear dentures to pay attention to the cleaning of the teeth. Some of the following methods will help to restore the health of teeth.
( 1 ) Perform gum massage to enhance periodontal tissue health: elderly patients with periodontitis can use clean hands to show their fingers to do circular rotational massage on the surface of teeth and gums after brushing. Start with the back teeth and gradually move to the front, once in the morning and once in the evening, for 10-15 minutes each time. However, massage should not be done during the acute phase of inflammation. If the tartar is more, should be removed before massage.
( 2 ) Chinese medicine recommended method: knocking teeth, every morning and evening empty mouth bite dozens of times. The bite should be resounding, can promote blood circulation, enhance the periodontal tissue resistance to disease, often do can make the teeth strong and painless; qigong, that is, closed mouth clenching teeth, natural breathing.
How to prevent periodontitis?
Periodontitis prevention should be started from many sides and can be divided into three levels of prevention.
The first level of prevention: to develop good daily hygiene habits, master the correct brushing method to control plaque generation, while paying attention to reasonable nutrition, and actively treat systemic diseases to improve the host’s ability to resist disease;
Secondary prevention: regular oral health care treatment, regular cleaning, early detection and treatment of periodontal disease;
Tertiary prevention: belongs to the treatment category, to cure periodontal disease by medication or surgery to prevent functional damage to the maximum extent.