Rationale of Periodontal Treatment
Rationale of Periodontal Treatment
Rationale of Periodontal Treatment
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Rationale of periodontal treatment
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Introduction:
Available data strongly suggests the multifactorial etiology of periodontal diseases. In the “Basic
Periodontology” section, a detailed description of factors responsible for periodontal disease
initiation and progression has been given. A good understanding of etiopathogenesis of periodontal
diseases is required to effectively treat them. The most important supporting evidence in favour of
for nonsurgical and surgical periodontal treatment comes from longitudinal studies done in the late
60’s and continuing into the 70’s and 80’s. Many series of longitudinal studies were conducted, aimed
to document the immediate and most importantly long term clinical results following several types of
nonsurgical and surgical periodontal therapies. A detailed description of these studies has been given
in “Longitudinal studies done to evaluate outcomes of nonsurgical and surgical periodontal
therapy”.
Objective of periodontal therapy:
The main objective of periodontal therapy is to achieve complete periodontal health. The first and
foremost step in periodontal treatment is elimination of inflammation. Local therapy accomplishes
removal of local factors like plaque and calculus which leads to resolution of inflammation.
Identifying occlusal problems and occlusal harmonization is important to eliminate undue forces on
periodontium. If the patient has moderate or advanced periodontal destruction, surgical therapy is
required to reduce/eliminate pockets. Along with reduction/elimination of pocket, it is important to
reshape the bone surrounding the teeth, so that the possibility of pocket reformation can be
minimized.
Finally, the long term objective of periodontal treatment is maintaining the periodontal health in long
term by putting the patient on maintenance therapy. Following sections describe briefly the local and
systemic therapy given during periodontal treatment and what results are expected from periodontal
therapy.
Local therapy:
Elimination of primary etiology which is plaque and calculus is the first step in periodontal treatment
of the patient. The resolution of inflammation requires thorough scaling and root planing. A
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biologically acceptable root surface is achieved through this process which is required during
periodontal healing. Other factors which favour plaque accumulation such as overhanging restoration
margins are also corrected during local therapy.
Analysis of the occlusion is very important because abnormal occlusal forces may adversely affect the
periodontal tissue. Occlusal harmonization is required to eliminate abnormal occlusal forces, thus
helping in periodontal healing. A detailed description of procedures involved in this process has been
given in “Occlusal Harmonization”.
After resolution of inflammation, the primary sign of inflammation such as bleeding on probing and
swelling subside. In case of moderate to advanced periodontitis where deep periodontal pockets are
present, the gingiva may become fibrotic due to repeated healing in the inflamed tissue. Surgical
therapy is then executed to achieve pocket depth reduction and physiological periodontal architecture
of the tissues.
As already stated, our main aim by doing local therapy is to eliminate the primary etiology of the
disease and to achieve healthy periodontal structure which can be self maintained by the patient.
Systemic therapy:
In conditions like localized and generalized aggressive periodontitis, putative periodontal pathogens
have been isolated from the connective tissue supporting the periodontal pocket. So, systemic therapy
is employed to eliminate these pathogens from the connective tissue.
Diseases such as diabetes mellitus may alter the rate of periodontal destruction and also negatively
affect periodontal healing. So, it becomes necessary to treat these systemic conditions along with to
achieve best results of the treatment.
Host modulation therapy (HMT) is relatively new concept and is being investigated. Some drugs have
been shown to modulate the host response and prevent destruction caused by host immune response.
Tetracycline group of drugs have been widely investigated for their host response modulation. In
addition, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs such as flurbiprofen, ibuprofen etc. has been shown to
decrease periodontal bone loss. Although, HMT is still under investigation but certainly it has got
great potential in future.
Systemic therapy is also provided from preventive point of view. The bacteremia caused due to non
surgical and surgical periodontal therapy may lead to infective endocarditis in cardiac patients. So,
antibiotic prophylaxis is very important part of whole therapy.
What does periodontal therapy accomplish?
Like other parts of the body, the basic steps in healing in periodontal tissue are the same. Clinically,
after periodontal treatment a periodontium free of inflammation is achieved. But, as far as healing at
microscopic level is concerned, patterns of healing may result in different outcomes. Dentogingival
unit is a dynamic structure that attaches the periodontal soft tissue to tooth. Its integrity is first to be
lost during inflammation, so its reestablishment is the first sign of healing. A lot of research has been
done to understand the basic mechanism of healing in periodontal tissue. Our present understanding
suggests following patterns of healing in periodontal tissue,
NewAttachment:
New attachment is the embedding of new periodontal ligament fibers into new cementum and the
attachment of the gingival epithelium to a tooth surface previously denuded by disease 1. It employs
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3/9/2015 Rationale of periodontal treatment
the reunion of connective tissue with a root surface that has been deprived of its periodontal ligament.
This occurs with the formation of new cementum with inserting collagen fibers which can be verified
by histological examination 2.
Regeneration:
Regeneration is defined as a reproduction or reconstruction of a lost or injured part in such a way that
the architecture and function of the lost or injured tissues are completely restored 1. Periodontally, this
definition implies the formation of new bone, new cementum, and a functionally oriented periodontal
ligament. Regeneration therefore may only be assessed by histologic data.
Repair:
It is the biologic process by which continuity of disrupted tissue is restored by new tissues which do
not replicate the structure and function of the lost tissue 3. In other words, tissue formed does not
allow the original morphological nor functional restoration of the tissue being considered and is
considered as nonfunctional scarring. Thus, the long epithelial attachment is interpreted as repair,
since there is no restoration of the periodontal structural architecture, but a long epithelium that acts
functionally only as a cover to the underlying structures.
Reattachment:
Reattachment refers to repair in areas of the root not previously exposed to the pocket, such as after
surgical detachment of the tissues or following traumatic tears in the cementum, tooth fractures, or the
treatment of periapical lesions 3. In the past, term reattachment was used to describe the restoration of
the marginal periodontium, but because it is not the existing fibers that reattach but the new fibers that
are formed and attach to the new cementum, the term has been replaced by the term new attachment.
Reattachment are now only used as repair in areas of the root not previously exposed to the pocket,
such as after surgical detachment of the tissues or after traumatic tears in the cementum, tooth
fractures, or treatment of periapical lesion.
Epithelial adaptation:
It is the close apposition of gingival epithelium to the tooth without complete obliteration of pocket
and no gain in attachment of gingival fiber attachment. As already stated epithelial adaptation is result
of repair because it just covers the underlying connective tissue.
Conclusion:
With above background, now we can systematically go ahead with discussion on different clinical
aspects of periodontal treatment starting with “The art of history taking in periodontology”,
detailed description of “Periodontal instruments” and then procedures which are carried out to treat
periodontal diseases. First of all we shall discuss the historical aspect of various surgical procedures in
“History of periodontal surgeries” and “History of periodontal regeneration”. After this, we shall
study the current status of different surgical procedures.
We have come a long way and our scientific knowledge regarding periodontal diseases has been
enriched quite a bit. My aim through this discussion is to make complicated concepts simple, so that
they can be easily understood.
References:
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1. Glossary of Periodontal Terms 1992.
2. Hert, WC., Dahlberg, WH., McFall, WT., O’Leary, TJ., Pritchard, JF. Glossary of periodontal
terms. J Periodontal 1986. 57 (suppl) 25.
3. Carranza's Clinical Periodontology. 11th Edition. By Michael G. Newman, DDS, Henry Takei,
DDS, MS, Perry R. Klokkevold, DDS, MS and Fermin A. Carranza , Dr. Odont.
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