In periodontal disease, not only does the bone that supports the teeth, known as alveolar bone, reduce in height in relation to the teeth, but the morphology of the remaining alveolar bone is altered. [1] The bone destruction patterns that occur as a result of periodontal disease generally take on characteristic forms.
There are four chief types of bone defects that present in the alveolar bone:
Generalized bone loss occurs most frequently as horizontal bone loss. [2] Horizontal bone loss manifests as a somewhat even degree of bone resorption so that the height of the bone in relation to the teeth has been uniformly decreased, as indicated in the radiograph to the rig defects occur adjacent to a tooth and usually in the form of a triangular area of missing bone, known as triangulation. [2]
The human teeth function to mechanically break down items of food by cutting and crushing them in preparation for swallowing and digesting. As such, they are considered part of the human digestive system. Humans have four types of teeth: incisors, canines, premolars, and molars, which each have a specific function. The incisors cut the food, the canines tear the food and the molars and premolars crush the food. The roots of teeth are embedded in the maxilla or the mandible and are covered by gums. Teeth are made of multiple tissues of varying density and hardness.
Acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (ANUG) is a common, non-contagious infection of the gums with sudden onset. The main features are painful, bleeding gums, and ulceration of inter-dental papillae. This disease, along with necrotizing (ulcerative) periodontitis is classified as a necrotizing periodontal disease, one of the seven general types of gum disease caused by inflammation of the gums (periodontitis).
The periodontal ligament, commonly abbreviated as the PDL, is a group of specialized connective tissue fibers that essentially attach a tooth to the alveolar bone within which it sits. It inserts into root cementum one side and onto alveolar bone on the other.
Periodontology or periodontics is the specialty of dentistry that studies supporting structures of teeth, as well as diseases and conditions that affect them. The supporting tissues are known as the periodontium, which includes the gingiva (gums), alveolar bone, cementum, and the periodontal ligament. A periodontist is a dentist that specializes in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of periodontal disease and in the placement of dental implants.
The alveolar process or alveolar bone is the thickened ridge of bone that contains the tooth sockets on the jaw bones. The structures are covered by gums as part of the oral cavity.
Veterinary dentistry is the field of dentistry applied to the care of animals. It is the art and science of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of conditions, diseases, and disorders of the oral cavity, the maxillofacial region, and its associated structures as it relates to animals.
Toothlessness, or edentulism, is the condition of having no teeth. In organisms that naturally have teeth, it is the result of tooth loss.
Occlusal trauma is the damage to teeth when an excessive force is acted upon them and they do not align properly.
Gingival and periodontal pockets are dental terms indicating the presence of an abnormal depth of the gingival sulcus near the point at which the gingival tissue contacts the tooth.
Crown-to-root-ratio is the ratio of the length of the part of a tooth that appears above the alveolar bone versus what lies below it. It is an important consideration in the diagnosis, treatment planning and restoration of teeth, one that hopefully guides the plan of treatment to the proper end result.
The gingival fibers are the connective tissue fibers that inhabit the gingival tissue adjacent to teeth and help hold the tissue firmly against the teeth. They are primarily composed of type I collagen, although type III fibers are also involved.
In dentistry, debridement refers to the removal by dental cleaning of accumulations of plaque and calculus (tartar) in order to maintain dental health. Debridement may be performed using ultrasonic instruments, which fracture the calculus, thereby facilitating its removal, as well as hand tools, including periodontal scaler and curettes, or through the use of chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide.
In dentistry, a furcation defect is bone loss, usually a result of periodontal disease, affecting the base of the root trunk of a tooth where two or more roots meet. The extent and configuration of the defect are factors in both diagnosis and treatment planning.
A periodontal abscess, is a localized collection of pus within the tissues of the periodontium. It is a type of dental abscess. A periodontal abscess occurs alongside a tooth, and is different from the more common periapical abscess, which represents the spread of infection from a dead tooth. To reflect this, sometimes the term "lateral (periodontal) abscess" is used. In contrast to a periapical abscess, periodontal abscesses are usually associated with a vital (living) tooth. Abscesses of the periodontium are acute bacterial infections classified primarily by location.
Chronic periodontitis is one of the seven categories of periodontitis as defined by the American Academy of Periodontology 1999 classification system. Chronic periodontitis is a common disease of the oral cavity consisting of chronic inflammation of the periodontal tissues that is caused by the accumulation of profuse amounts of dental plaque. Periodontitis initially begins as gingivitis and can progress onto chronic and subsequent aggressive periodontitis according to the 1999 classification.
Aggressive periodontitis describes a type of periodontal disease and includes two of the seven classifications of periodontitis as defined by the 1999 classification system:
Necrotizing periodontal diseases is one of the seven categories of periodontitis as defined by the American Academy of Periodontology 1999 classification system and is one of the three classifications of periodontal diseases and conditions within the 2017 classification.
In dentistry, numerous types of classification schemes have been developed to describe the teeth and gum tissue in a way that categorizes various defects. All of these classification schemes combine to provide the periodontal diagnosis of the aforementioned tissues in their various states of health and disease.
Clinical attachment loss (CAL) is the predominant clinical manifestation and determinant of periodontal disease.