Archive for the ‘periodontology’ Category

Parodontosis, parodontitis, heart attack!

Posted by Dental News Team On August - 14 - 2009

Parodontosis, parodontitis, heart attack!
“What do diseases have in common? How are they different?”

Parodontosis is still the term erroneously used to designate a pathological inflammation of the periodontal apparatus (the structure which holds the teeth).


The terms parodontosis, parodontopathy and parodontitis come from the word “”parodont””. This refers to the periodontal apparatus, the structure which anchors the teeth to the bone (paro = around, dont = tooth).

parodontitis2

For a long time, it was impossible to isolate bacteria from the gum pockets of patients with parodontitis, since germs were grown using oxygen. But these bacteria live in gum pockets because they thrive in oxygen-deficient conditions (1=perio instrument; 2=tooth pocket).
More information here!

The false conclusion was that there were no bacteria, so there could be no inflammation so the cause must be a disorder in metabolism, thus the ending –ose! Only by applying methods used in molecular biology could bacterial DNA be found, and later on it was even possible to grow bacteria in oxygen-deficient conditions. So there was definitely an inflammation, or -itis. Arthrosis, for example, refers to a deterioration in the joints. Excessive strain on the joint leads to a disorder in metabolism in the cartilage, which causes cartilage to recede. Arthritis, on the other hand, means an inflammation in the joint, e.g. due to bacterial contamination of a wound after an accident. More information here!

This is not the same as playing scrabble, inflammation requires a different kind of treatment than a degenerative disease and the right diagnosis is the best way to start the right treatment!

The correct designation for a „recession“ of the periodontal apparatus is parodontitis! Scientist in Kiel have found out that parodontitis and heart attacks result from similar variations in a person’s genes. A connection between the two diseases was discovered years ago. Researchers examined genetic changes in Chromosome 9 in patients with aggressive parodontitis. The genetic variations associated with this disease were identical to that of patients who had suffered a heart attack. Research focused on the aggressive form of parodontitis, it is assumed that there is a causal connection between this disease and heart attacks.

Because it is associated with heart attacks, parodontitis should be taken seriously by dentists, diagnosed early and treated as soon as possible.

Source: 2009_Parodontosis, parodontitis, heart attack!

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