Periodontitis – diagnosis and therapy
Periodontitis is an advanced chronic inflammation of the gums. It is one of the most common diseases. Due to the development of bacteria in the dental plaque and tartar, inflammation of the tooth’s support-holding apparatus occurs, affecting the surrounding bone. Usually there are often no symptoms or they are few and the disease goes unnoticed to the next stage. The loss of the dental support is irreversible. Left untreated, periodontitis can lead to visible receding of the gums and the teeth becoming bare and shaky or even completely falling out.
However, this inflammation affects the whole body and worsens many diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and others. For this reason, it is very important to detect the disease early, through special diagnostics and start targeted therapy as early as possible. A series of tests are performed to determine if there is periodontitis and how to treat it. Some of them are clinical and are performed in the dentist’s office, for example, measuring the depth of the gingival pockets, detecting bleeding, shaking teeth, the amount of plaque, etc. Other tests are non-clinical. These may include, for example, X-rays of the jaws to determine the level of bone destruction and special laboratory tests, antibiotics to choose the right drugs for the treatment. The most up-to-date laboratory test is a molecular biological evaluation method – real-time PCR test.
Periodontitis is treated in several phases. The initial treatment consists of professional teeth cleaning. In the next stage, plaque, bacteria and toxins, as well as diseased tissue are removed from the gingival pockets. This phase is accompanied by antibiotic therapy determined by laboratory tests. After the completion of the actual treatment, a control check is made for its success. A second laboratory test for bacteria is recommended.
The control and prevention of periodontitis consists of regular check-ups life, so that the disease can be recognized, treated in time and kept under control.
