In this course you will learn what causes the alveolar bone to recede around our teeth, and techniques to regrow it.
The current belief: periodontal disease is caused by the invasion of bacteria. Inflammation responds as the bacteria break down the periodontal tissues.
It can also be the immune system of the patient responding to the bacteria. Specialized cells called phagocytes attack and destroy the infected tissues, gums, periodontal ligament and jawbone, in an effort to eliminate the infection
Therefore, to cure the mouth of gingivitis, the patient must remove the calculus and plaques that harbor bacteria. This rigorous cleaning is instilled into our patients until the infection subsides.
Periodontitis is an extension of gingivitis. The inflammation continues to break down the tissues driving the alveolar bone away from the teeth.
There seems to be a great deal of confusion how this is accomplished. To better understand how this comes about, we will look at what the bacteria actually do in the tissues. We need some definitions first.
Plaque:
This starts off as slime in the mouth....