Percentage of bone loss: Greater the bone loss, poorer the prognosis. As bone loss exceeds 50% the prognosis worsens rapidly. More irregular the bone loss, the poorer is the prognosis.
If left untreated, periodontitis can lead to tooth loss. Treatment may involve deep dental cleaning or, in severe cases, surgery. Regular brushing and flossing can prevent periodontitis.
It consists of five categories that include good, fair, poor, questionable and hopeless (Table 1). In this system, clinicians assign each tooth to a category based on their ability to control the etiology of disease, attachment loss, presence of furcation involvement, crown/root ratio, and the degree of tooth mobility.
'' In addition, the consensus report stated that periodontitis can be further characterized by extent and severity: ''As a general guide, severity can be categorized on the basis of the amount of clinical attachment loss (CAL) as follows: Slight = 1 to 2 mm CAL, Moderate = 3 to 4 mm CAL, and Severe = ‡5 mm CAL.
Score of 1 to 4 has an “excellent” prognosis • Score of 5 to 8 has a “good” prognosis • Score of 9 to 11 or greater has a “guarded” prognosis. It is important to realize that the keys to success are not a promise of success but a guideline that allows the patient to succeed.
Four stages of periodontal disease
Gingivitis: This is the only stage of the disease that is reversible as it hasn't attacked the bones yet. This is a result of plaque buildup around the teeth. Bleeding gums is one of the first symptoms you may experience.
But the condition may get even worse if left untreated. They may experience receding gums, loosening teeth, or tooth loss when it progresses into severe periodontal disease. If you wonder if you can live with this disease, the answer is yes.
If a patient has gingivitis this can be reversed with a gum health regimen, but a periodontitis patient remains a periodontitis patient for life, even following successful therapy, and requires life-long supportive care to prevent recurrence of disease.
Periodontitis. Periodontitis is the intermediate stage of gum disease. In this stage of periodontal disease, the infection has advanced, and is no longer reversible. The bacteria in your gums will attack your gum tissue and the support structure of your teeth, causing permanent damage to your mouth.
In its more serious form, called periodontitis, the gums can pull away from the tooth, bone can be lost, and the teeth may loosen or even fall out. Periodontal disease is mostly seen in adults. Periodontal disease and tooth decay are the two biggest threats to dental health.
Periodontitis (per-e-o-don-TIE-tis), also called gum disease, is a serious gum infection that damages the soft tissue around teeth. Without treatment, periodontitis can destroy the bone that supports your teeth. This can cause teeth to loosen or lead to tooth loss. Periodontitis is common but can usually be prevented.
It's never too late to seek treatment for gum disease, and the degree of treatment you require will depend on how advanced it is.
Stage 4 of periodontal disease is the point of no return. At this point, even scaling and root planning won't be enough to treat your teeth. A dentist will probably recommend surgery or laser therapy to clean out the gums' deep bacteria deposits. The worse your periodontitis gets, the more it's going to cost you.
With gum disease, you won't keep your teeth for long. In fact, unlike tooth decay which impacts your smile one tooth at a time, periodontitis can cause you to lose multiple, if not all, teeth at once. Gum disease starts small as a mild form called gingivitis.
The progression of periodontal disease is slow but steady. It only takes four days for plaque to reach its maximum extent, so you'll be able to physically see signs of gingivitis on day 5. Advanced stages of this disease can be seen in as little as a few weeks if you have not tried to reverse the gingivitis.
In some cases, it may be too late for gum grafting to save the gums. If your gums are severely damaged, receding so far back that they expose the tooth's root, or if there is significant bone loss from advanced gum disease, gum grafting may not be able to restore them to their healthy state.
Stage 3: Advanced Periodontitis
As the infection worsens, the pockets may also fill with pus. At this point your teeth might loosen or fall out. This stage of gum disease is irreversible, though dental implants (replacement teeth) are one option for people suffering from serious periodontitis.
Aggressive periodontitis (AgP) is a disease characterized by rapid loss of periodontal tissues affecting systemically healthy individuals under age of 30 years.
Incidents of periodontal disease (gum disease) do increase with age, but gum disease can start at any time. Most people do not begin to show signs, however, until they are in their 30s or 40s.
While LISTERINE® mouthwash products can help prevent early gum disease, they are not indicated to treat periodontitis.
Foods such as pickled vegetables, citrus fruits, black coffee, and tea can enhance inflammation, aggravate your condition, and slow down the effects of treatment.
In most cases, dental bone loss can be stopped. And with expert periodontal care, you can actually regenerate bone and reverse bone loss.
For example, patients with conditions that affect the efficiency of the immune system, such as diabetes, HIV, Down syndrome, leukemia, etc., can make periodontal disease worse. Those who smoke, use tobacco products, are malnourished, and/or are highly stressed are also at an increased risk.
Yes. Regardless of the stage of infection, you can stop the progression of gum disease. The initial phase is the easiest to manage as it only requires maintaining proper oral care and dental checkups. Further stages will require specialized treatment such as scaling and root planing.
In most cases, the damage will not be completely reversible, but if you follow the treatment and prevention plan laid out by your dentist, you should be able to see significant improvement. Most people are able to reclaim a 4mm to 5mm pocket depth with proper treatment and ongoing periodontal maintenance.