Chronic periodontitis
| Chronic periodontitis | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
| Specialty | gastroenterology |
| ICD-10 | K05.3 |
| ICD-9-CM | 523.4 |
| DiseasesDB | 29362 |
| MeSH | D055113 |
Chronic periodontitis is a common disease of the oral cavity consisting of chronic inflammation of the periodontal tissues that is caused by accumulation of profuse amounts of dental plaque.
It is one of the seven destructive periodontal diseases as listed in the 1999 classification.
In the early stages, chronic periodontitis has few symptoms and in many individuals the disease has progressed significantly before they seek treatment. Symptoms may include the following:
Gingival inflammation and bone destruction are often painless. Patients sometimes assume that painless bleeding after teeth cleaning is insignificant, although this may be a symptom of progressing chronic periodontitis in that patient.
Subgingival calculus is a frequent finding.
There is a slow to moderate rate of disease progression but the patient may have periods of rapid progression ("bursts of destruction"). Chronic periodontitis can be associated with local predisposing factors(e.g. tooth-related or iatrogenic factors). The disease may be modified by and be associated with systemic diseases (e.g. diabetes mellitus, HIV infection) It can also be modified by factors other than systemic disease such as smoking and emotional stress.
Major risk factors: Smoking, lack of oral hygiene with inadequate plaque biofilm control.
Measuring disease progression is carried out by measuring probing pocket depth (PPD) and bleeding indices using a periodontal probe. Pockets greater than 3mm in depth are considered to be unhealthy. Bleeding on probing is considered to be a sign of active disease. Discharge of pus, involvement of the root furcation area and deeper pocketing may all indicate reduced prognosis for an individual tooth.
Age is related to the incidence of periodontal destruction: "...in a well-maintained population who practises oral home care and has regular check-ups, the incidence of incipient periodontal destruction increases with age, the highest rate occurs between 50 and 60 years, and gingival recession is the predominant lesion before 40 years, while periodontal pocketing is the principal mode of destruction between 50 and 60 years of age."
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