Several misunderstandings about periodontitis (Part 2)

The previous article discussed several relatively common and important misconceptions about periodontitis. Today we will continue to talk about other misconceptions to further unveil the mystery of periodontitis.

1Periodontitis is only a problem for adults

As mentioned earlier, periodontitis in a broad sense includes two types of diseases: gingivitis and periodontitis in a narrow sense (i.e., the inflammation of tissues such as the gums, periodontal membrane, and alveolar bone). In fact, there are different types of periodontitis in a narrow sense. Although the most common (95%) periodontitis, chronic periodontitis (CP), is more common in adults, it is undeniable that CP is only one type of periodontitis in a narrow sense. Other types of periodontitis are divided into two major categories, namely, aggressive periodontitis and periodontitis that reflects systemic diseases. Among them, the age of onset of localized aggressive periodontitis is around adolescence. Therefore, there are also teenagers among patients with periodontitis.

However, it is worth noting that if children around puberty have symptoms of gingival bleeding, it cannot be directly diagnosed as aggressive periodontitis, because this period is also likely to be suffering from adolescent gingivitis. The final conclusion can only be drawn after professional examination.

2. To treat periodontitis, washing your teeth is enough

As people's understanding of periodontitis continues to deepen, more and more people have learned that teeth cleaning is an effective way to treat periodontitis. However, if you say that teeth cleaning alone can cure periodontitis, it is a bit of an exaggeration to say that the role of teeth cleaning can be cured.

In fact, teeth cleaning is indeed an important part of periodontitis treatment, but it is neither the first step nor the last step .

First of all, the first step in treating periodontitis is basic treatment , and the first step in basic treatment is plaque control , which includes many specific methods. The most basic and important method is the one you are very familiar with but may not think of - brushing teeth . In a sense, if the patient cannot brush his teeth effectively , no matter how good the doctor is or how hard he works, it will be in vain. Therefore, some doctors only start treating periodontitis on the premise that they require patients to learn to brush their teeth. In addition, using dental floss and mouthwash are also common plaque control methods. Although teeth cleaning is also a basic treatment, it is undoubtedly based on good plaque control.

Secondly, in addition to basic treatment, periodontitis treatment also includes drug treatment , surgical treatment , etc. The specific methods to be adopted depend on the actual severity of the patient's condition. Therefore, for many periodontitis patients, teeth cleaning is only the beginning of treatment and cannot completely solve the periodontitis problem.

Based on the above, it is not difficult to see that the treatment of periodontitis is actually a long-term, planned, and gradual process. Before the treatment begins, the doctor needs to conduct a systematic and comprehensive assessment of the patient in order to develop a relatively detailed and careful plan to delay the progression of periodontitis as much as possible and to save the "collapsed" periodontal tissue to the greatest extent possible.

Periodontitis is really not a simple problem, don’t you think?