Still confused about periodontitis? See if this article can help you!

As people's awareness of self-care continues to increase, another common oral disease besides tooth decay - periodontitis - has also received more and more attention. However, many questions about this disease still bother everyone, such as what kind of disease is periodontitis? How harmful is it? Why do some people become victims of periodontitis? What is the key to treating periodontitis?

What kind of disease is periodontitis?

As the name suggests, it is not difficult to guess that periodontitis is an inflammatory disease. There are two main factors that can cause inflammation in the body: injury and infection. The definition of infection is inflammation caused by biological factors. The so-called biological factors include bacteria, viruses, etc. Therefore, periodontitis is essentially the same as our common cold (i.e. upper respiratory tract infection, referred to as upper respiratory tract infection).

Since the culprits of infectious diseases are biological factors, the key to treatment is to control or eliminate biological factors.

Unlike most organs in the body, the oral cavity is naturally bacterial, which means that the treatment of periodontitis (and tooth decay) cannot be aimed at eliminating biological factors! Therefore, the concept of periodontal treatment has always emphasized the control of biological factors, rather than the elimination of biological factors.

How harmful is periodontitis?

Because the biological factors that cause periodontitis cannot be completely eradicated, periodontitis has become a disease that is difficult to "cure". In other words, once periodontitis occurs, it cannot be cured. The most ideal treatment result is that periodontitis is effectively controlled.

Although periodontitis is difficult to cure, it is still necessary to make efforts to control it.

This is because its biggest harm is that it can "pull out the teeth by the roots". This result is closely related to the power of periodontal pathogens, the biological factors that cause periodontitis. Periodontal pathogens are a special type of oral bacteria, mainly anaerobic bacteria. The surface substances of the bacteria and the enzymes, toxins and metabolites they produce can "eat" the periodontal tissue without knowing it, causing the periodontal tissue to eventually collapse. As the saying goes, "If the skin is gone, where will the hair be attached?" Teeth eventually become the "abandoned children" of the oral cavity.

Why do some people fall victim to periodontitis?

Although the incidence of periodontitis is indeed high, it is obvious that not everyone will suffer from periodontitis. So, what is the key factor that determines who will become a victim of periodontitis? Of course, it is the growth of individual periodontal pathogens. Individuals with vigorous and active growth of periodontal pathogens in the mouth are likely to become victims of periodontitis.

The oral cavity is a bacterial organ, and the bacteria in it are not only diverse, but also huge in number. In most cases, there are both cariogenic bacteria and periodontal pathogens in the oral cavity, as well as countless other types of microorganisms. But in fact, many people do not develop tooth decay or periodontitis because of this. The reason is that these bacteria are in a state of mutual restraint and balance. For those who are prone to tooth decay or periodontitis, their oral bacteria are likely to be in an unbalanced state, and often one type of bacteria - cariogenic bacteria or periodontal pathogens - is dominant.

Therefore, the fundamental factor that determines whether a person will become a victim of periodontitis is the "status" of periodontal pathogens in his or her mouth.

What is the key to periodontitis treatment?

Since the root cause of periodontitis is that periodontal pathogens occupy a dominant position in the oral cavity and grow vigorously and actively, targeted control of periodontal pathogens is the key to the treatment of periodontitis.

How to specifically control periodontal pathogens? There are two conventional methods: mechanical method and chemical method.

The so-called mechanical method is to use mechanical methods to remove the bacterial plaque (dental plaque) formed by periodontal pathogens. As mentioned earlier, periodontal pathogens are mostly anaerobic bacteria, so they are mostly located at the gingival margin (near the neck of the tooth) and below. For patients with periodontitis, it is very important to thoroughly clean the dental plaque in this area. Whether brushing your teeth or using dental floss, you should avoid missing this area. And teeth cleaning is to focus on this area.

Chemical methods usually refer to gargling with mouthwash containing antimicrobial drugs. Since most antimicrobial drugs are broad-spectrum, their specificity is obviously not as good as mechanical methods. Moreover, long-term use of antimicrobial drugs will also bring new problems such as bacterial imbalance.

Therefore, the preferred method for treating periodontitis is always mechanical methods - brushing, flossing, scaling, etc.

Do you know now? In essence, periodontitis is similar to a cold, both are infectious diseases. Since the pathogenic factors of periodontitis exist in the oral cavity, a natural bacterial organ, it is impossible to completely eliminate them, but only to effectively control them. Once periodontitis gets out of control, the result is likely to be the complete loss of teeth, so its harm cannot be underestimated. The fundamental factor that determines whether a person will have periodontitis is not whether there are periodontal pathogens in the mouth, but whether such bacteria have been able to "cover the sky with one hand and do whatever they want." The most effective way to combat the arrogance of periodontal pathogens is to adopt seemingly simple but truly effective methods such as brushing teeth, flossing and washing teeth!

This article is produced by Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Cultivation Program. Please indicate the source when reprinting