A focus on
The Different Stages of
Periodontal Disease
By Niki Fontaine, RDH
Hello Readers,
I hope all your holidays were festive and enjoyable with family and friends. With the New Year beginning and we are all back from holidays, I know my focus will be on Health and Wellness, now and in the coming months. This includes diet and exercise, but also oral health. Catherine Fontaine here, known by most as Niki. My career has had a focus in most areas of dental. I have credentials in Dental Administration (DAA), and I am a Registered and Certified Dental Assistant (RDA/CDAII), and a Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH) working on an Oral Facial Myology Specialty (Pre-COM).
Many thanks to all who read my first article and The Seeker for the opportunity to continue sharing my love of prevention and dental knowledge to the readership. I hope you enjoy my second article.
To begin my second article for The Seeker, as it is Health and Wellness month, I felt it would be interesting to talk about health and wellness for the mouth. Head to toe we are connected. Oral health is important to help the rest of the body maintain health. So lets discuss the different stages of periodontal disease (gum disease) to expand on the importance of prevention of disease from my first article.
Periodontal disease (gum disease) is the irreversible and degenerative process of bleeding gums, alveolar bone loss and recession of the gums. The saying “as we get older, we get longer in the tooth” comes to mind.
As the gums, periodontal ligament and bone are the supporting structures of the teeth it is necessary to remediate the gum disease and its factors to reduce the risk of tooth loss both now and as we age.
Stages of periodontal health and disease
Healthy Gingiva (gums)
Reason: Good Oral Hygiene Habits including brushing twice daily, flossing and rinsing daily, and regular dental hygiene appointments (6 months)
Gingivitis
Reason: Oral hygiene habits could be improved, more regular hygiene visits (6 months)
Periodontitis
Reason: Oral hygiene habits must be improved, negative factors decreased if possible or controlled, increased frequency of hygiene care visits (every 3 or 4 months).
Negative Factors that affect Gingivitis and Periodontitis
Above picture: Clinical appearance of healthy gums, gingivitis and periodontitis.
As we see from above, the answer is not always clear as to the root cause, there may be multiple factors or reasons for developing periodontal disease.
Pick up the February Seeker to continue reading about some of the Basics of Treatment.