Perio Institute

evidence of more and more each year joining surfaces periodontal disease and other systemic diseases that are not in the mouth. In the presence of periodontal disease, the risk is much higher in the contracts of one or more other diseases. There are two types of gum disease. periodontal infection is the advanced stage of gum disease that causes bone loss. Bone loss is irreversible. Gingivitis is the early stage of gum disease and early detection, treatment and good oral hygiene can be reversed. periodontal infection has been associated with other systemic diseases that would not seem related to the surface.

Periodontal disease is a potential risk factor for:

¨ infective endocarditis (heart valve damage)

· The cardio-vascular diseases (arteriosclerosis, coronary artery disease, stroke)

¨ Diabetes

· Problems breathing

· Cancer of the pancreas

· Status behavioral and psychosocial

And the link between periodontal infections and systemic diseases, periodontal disease is infectious or contagious and can be passed between family members. On the surface, it is logical that the infection in the mouth is able to find its way to other parts of the body. Initially it was thought that bacteria in the mouth that cause periodontal disease were directly infect different sites in the body, like the heart or lungs or artificial implants. This is true. However, there is more than that.

The body recognizes the bacteria in the mouth like a chronic infection and uses its defense mechanism to combat it. The organization asks itself to the manufacture of blood components, such as neutrophils, eosinophils and mast cells, physically fight the infection. This process occurs with all infections. The problem is that as an infection becomes chronic, the body continues to manufacture these components of blood, and release a hormone called pseudo C-reactive protein. It is this protein that inflames the inside walls of arteries and blood flow compromise in areas that may have a predisposition.

Research, Science and Therapy Committee of the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) 1998 reviewed several studies and found periodontal disease and gingivitis as potential contributing factors for infective endocarditis (heart valve damage) , cardio-vascular diseases (atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease, stroke), diabetes, respiratory diseases, and behavioral and psychosocial status. Patients with periodontal disease have a risk 1.5 to 2.0 times more likely to contract a fatal cardiovascular disease. "It is important, dental infections may increase the risk of coronary heart disease to a level similar to conventional risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including age, smoking, diabetes, hypertension and serum triglycerides.

Diabetics are more susceptible to infections Contracting, which is the likely reason they are more likely to have periodontal disease than non-diabetics. In fact, the AAP considers periodontal disease the sixth complication of diabetes and states that the fight against gum disease may help you control your diabetes.

Some 16 million Americans suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. F. Scannapieco, DMD, lead researcher of a study published in January 2001 Journal of Periodontology, found that patients with periodontal disease are 1.5 times more at risk of COPD. (