Many people think that periodontal disease only occurs in the elderly, but in fact, periodontal disease can occur at any age and is not patent for the elderly. According to the statistics of the Periodontology Association, more than 80% of adults have mild or mild periodontal disease, especially in middle-aged and middle-aged people over the age of 30. The rate of medical treatment is less than 20%, which shows that most people do not realize how harmful periodontal disease is to their health.
Periodontal disease is one of the most common chronic diseases nowadays. The reason why it is classified as a chronic disease is that the destructive effect of bacteria is gradually accumulated over a long period of time, just like the gradual liquefaction and loss of soil. The whole process is It is very slow, and even takes several years, so patients are often difficult to detect at the beginning of the disease. When abnormal symptoms appear and go to the doctor, the teeth are often severely shaken, and they can only be pulled out, and there is no chance of saving.
The so-called periodontal disease is actually a disease in which bacteria invade the periodontal tissue, which refers to the periodontal ligament, alveolar bone, and the outer layer of gum tissue covering the root of the tooth. Their existence is like the foundation of a house, which can tightly fix the teeth in our jawbones so that the teeth can chew food with force.
However, if the periodontal tissue is destroyed by bacteria for a long time, the outer layer of the gum will be slowly eroded and atrophied. The whole process is like the foundation of the house being continuously emptied and lost until the alveolar bone roots are exposed. until. Even if the tooth itself is not decayed, if the foundation is lost, the tooth will collapse because it cannot stand.
Periodontal disease is a disease that causes the foundation of the teeth to be lost. It is the main cause of tooth loss in adults. The teeth are like a big tree, the roots of the teeth are like the roots, and the tissues around the teeth such as gums are like the soil around the roots. If periodontal disease occurs, it means that there is less soil around the tree, and the tree will loosen quickly.
Severe periodontal disease can lead to partial or even extensive missing teeth in the oral cavity. Moreover, periodontal disease not only affects the real teeth in our mouth, but even the false "implants" will suffer and eventually fall out, which will not only cause serious health problems in terms of aesthetics and oral hygiene but also cause the patient's social psychological and psychological problems. Difficulty eating.
Therefore, if you want to keep healthy teeth, it is very important to know about periodontal disease. In this way, early prevention, detection, and treatment are the basic principles of healthy teeth.
Causes and processes of periodontal disease
The main cause of the periodontal disease is mostly due to incomplete cleaning of oral teeth, or even laziness and contempt. This will leave food debris on the edge of the gum, and over a period of time, it will slowly form more dental calculus where bacteria gather.
With the growth over time, these bacteria will further secrete powerful toxins. These toxins will continue to stimulate and destroy the periodontal tissue, and gradually spread and erode towards the root of the tooth. When the bone is also invaded and destroyed by bacteria, the entire tooth cannot be preserved. The whole process is divided into the following three stages.
Stage 1 - Mild periodontal disease (gingivitis):
The first stage is mild periodontal disease (gingivitis) When the plaque in the mouth has not been removed for a long time, the plaque will further absorb the mineral combination in the saliva, and it will start to accumulate and harden from the inside to form like a stone. Rough dental calculus. The formed dental calculus is closely attached to the tooth surface. In addition to providing a larger surface area for plaque to grow and causing more plaque to accumulate, it also provides a solid wall surface to protect the smooth growth of plaque. At this time, how to brush your teeth is not easy to remove, and only professional instruments such as dentists can remove dental calculus.
Once the area covered by calculus expands to the gums, it will produce toxins that stimulate the gum tissue and cause the gums to become inflamed, resulting in red, swollen, and hypertrophic gums. At this time, brushing the teeth is prone to bleeding. This is gingivitis, which is the tooth The earliest stage of the weekly disease.
Stage 2 - Moderate periodontal disease:
The second stage - is moderate periodontal disease When gingivitis persists, it will further erode the periodontal tissue, causing the gingival flesh that was originally attached to the root surface to gradually separate from the root to form a crack, forming a crack. The space similar to the capsular bag is medically called a "periodontal capsular bag". Once a periodontal pocket is formed, it is not easy to remove the bacteria inside by brushing your teeth, so this space will make the accumulation of food debris, plaque, and calculus more serious. However, the continuously damaged gums will ooze out pus, and it will cause unpleasant bad breath with the smell of traces of cell tissue rancidity.
The alveolar bone and fibers that fix the tooth position have been irreparably damaged and shrunk. At this moment, if the oral cavity is still not cleaned, a large number of bacteria in the capsular bag will further erode the periodontal tissue, resulting in the entire periodontal tissue. The tissues are all inflamed, and eventually, even the alveolar bone and fibers that fix the tooth position are irreparably damaged and atrophied. In severe cases, even the root of the tooth will be exposed, and only half of the root of the tooth is in the alveolar bone. This is also the reason for the feeling of weak bite when eating and being especially sensitive to heat and cold.
Stage 3 - Severe periodontal disease:
The third stage - is severe periodontal disease Once the periodontitis continues to deteriorate, the periodontal pockets continue to be eroded by bacteria and become more and more swollen, resulting in more serious damage to the entire periodontal tissue and bacterial erosion. The speed is accelerated, and it will further erode the underlying dental bone, causing the alveolar bone to shrink and expand more severely.
When only a quarter of the alveolar bone at the root of the tooth is damaged, the tooth will start to shake greatly, or even shift. At this moment, even active treatment cannot restore the tooth that is about to loosen. Pull it out. If you do not pay attention and receive treatment and block the bacteria at this time, the periodontal bacteria will continue to spread to the next tooth until all the teeth are lost.
