A new study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that nearly half of all American adults over the age of 30 suffer from some degree of periodontal disease, with the disease being even more common among seniors over the age of 65. As your premiere dentist in Hillsdale and Portland, Burlingame Dental Arts would like to let you know about these treatments.
Beyond its impact on an individual’s teeth and gums, growing evidence over the last 10 years has shown that periodontal disease may also have an impact on the health of the rest of the body. In other words, individual’s who maintain healthy teeth have less of a risk for suffering chronic health issues, making it all the more important that patients get the periodontal treatment they need.
Major breakthroughs in periodontal therapy have resulted in significant changes in the field of periodontistry, resulting in more patients receiving the treatment and care they need. One of the biggest breakthroughs that occurred in recent years was the discovery that periodontal tissues can be regenerated, rather than just repairing the tissue after periodontal disease has occurred, and that periodontal regeneration can be enhanced with specific proteins products, such as Emdogain, a biological product that helps regrow tissue.
These breakthroughs have helped to confirm that medicine can reduce inflammation – the primary cause of periodontal tissue loss – and can now actually regrow some of an individual’s periodontal tissue. The proteins found in current and emerging protein products can even help dentists regrow periodontal tissue more efficiently and consistently. Researchers in the field of periodontal disease have begun examining a number of extremely promising possibilities for regenerative treatment, including:
- The study of new proteins that Emodagain consists of in hopes of finding that they posses powerful effect on both the formation of bone and the regrowth of blood vessels, both of which are affected by periodontal disease.
- Researchers from Japan have begun studying aspects of the body that help to facilitate the growth of blood vessels.
- European researchers have begun studying proteins used in the regrowth of bone, and have found that these proteins also help improve periodontal regeneration.
While these types of studies offer an immense potential for future breakthroughs, the medical community doesn’t actually need to wait before beginning new types of therapies. Effective products are already available, which can help spur periodontal regeneration in patients.
When left untreated, periodontal disease erodes away at the roots and bone structure that hold an individual’s teeth into position. Over time, the disease will severely compromise the base of a patient’s teeth, causing them to become loose, shift or fall out. Because the long-term damage the disease causes, periodontal disease ranks as the leading cause of adult tooth loss in the U.S.
It has become imperative that periodontal patients undergo therapy that can help regenerate healthy tissue. The emerging breakthroughs offered by dental researchers, combined by advances in treatments already in use today, offers significant progress against periodontal disease, and the chance of more patients maintaining their health and their teeth for years to come.