Introduction to periodontal medicine
Do the periodontal and systemic diseases have any link? Researchers have been trying to find out the answer to this question for a long time. As we know that periodontitis is the inflammation of periodontal tissues, the periodontal infection may act as a focus of infection for systemic diseases. This area of research in periodontology, which relates periodontal diseases to systemic diseases is known as “Periodontal medicine”. The term ‘Periodontal medicine’ was first suggested by Offenbacher (1996) 1. This field of periodontology encompasses the study of the contribution of periodontal infections on several systemic conditions such as atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, stroke, diabetes, and premature delivery. World Workshop in Periodontics 1996 introduced the term “Periodontal medicine” to describe the study of the connection between other systemic pathologies and periodontitis. Let’s try to understand the basic concepts in periodontal medicine.
Focus of infection
A focus of infection is a confined area which contains pathogenic microorganisms, that can occur anywhere in the body and usually causes no clinical manifestations. A focal infection is a localized or generalized infection caused by the dissemination of microorganisms or toxic products from the focus of infection 2.
Historical aspect of focal infection theory
The hypothesis that oral infection can act as a source of systemic infections (focal infection theory) is more than a century old. In 1890, WD Miller published a paper titled “The microorganisms of the human mouth: The local and general diseases which are caused by them” wherein, he considered oral infections as the prime cause of systemic diseases 3, 4. According to him, oral microorganisms and/or their products had an important role in the development of a variety of diseases, including brain abscesses, pulmonary diseases, and gastric problems, as well as a number of systemic infectious diseases 5.
This theory was widely accepted between 1900 to 1940 6 which resulted in radical dental treatments (like, extraction for caries, gingivitis, and periodontitis), which were advised as a solution for systemic diseases 7, 8. Two events may have played a significant role in radical treatments like full mouth extractions; first, the influence of the paper published by W D Miller (already mentioned) and second, the development of the dental X-ray, which revealed the presence of periapical radiolucencies in asymptomatic teeth and periodontal bone loss. Soon, the infected periodontal pockets were considered ………..Contents available in the book ………..Contents available in the book ………..Contents available in the book ………..Contents available in the book………..
This theory fell into controversy when in 1952, an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association stated that “many patients with diseases caused by foci of infection have not been relieved of their symptoms by removal of the foci. Many patients with these same diseases have no evident focus of infection; also, foci of infection are as common in apparently healthy persons as those with disease” 5. The focal infection theory was not revisited for the next 50 years.
Then, in 1986 Löe et al. 10 and others published a landmark paper which was the beginning of host immune response and bacterial interaction paradigm of periodontal disease progression. They examined a group of male tea workers in Sri Lanka over a period of 15 years. These men did not use any oral hygiene methods and had no access to dental care, allowing the study of the natural progression of the untreated periodontal disease. The results of the study showed that all individuals were not equally affected. The vast majority (81%) of the men showed moderate progression in attachment loss, 11% did not progress beyond gingivitis and the remaining group (8%) exhibited rapid loss of attachment, losing between 10 and 32 teeth over 15 years. The findings of the study had following conclusions:
- Gingivitis is present at an early stage in the progression of periodontal diseases, but it may or may not progress to periodontitis.
- Most importantly, it proposed that periodontal disease progression is multi-factorial i.e. factors other than the microbial etiologies are involved in the progression of periodontal diseases. These factors are known as the risk factors. Risk factors are defined as “an aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, an environmental exposure, or an inborn or inherited characteristic, which on the basis of epidemiologic evidence is known to be associated with a health-related condition” 11. Examples ………..Contents available in the book ………..Contents available in the book ………..Contents available in the book ………..Contents available in the book………..
Periobasics: A Textbook of Periodontics and Implantology
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Focal infection theory revisited
In 1910, a British physician, William Hunter, presented a lecture on the role of sepsis and antisepsis in medicine to the faculty of McGill University, where he condemned the practice of dentistry in the United States, which emphasized restorations instead of tooth extraction. The pulpless teeth (teeth with necrotic pulps) and endodontically treated teeth were also implicated as the focus of infection. However, endodontic community constantly opposed these statements. They stated that bacteremia occurs as part of normal daily activity such as chewing and tooth brushing and there is no evidence which supports that a well executed root canal treatment can cause distant infection. Furthermore, dental extractions produce a larger circulatory bacterial load than endodontic therapy. These observations were followed by long-term studies, which disapproved this concept 12. In the 1930s, editorials ………..Contents available in the book ………..Contents available in the book ………..Contents available in the book ………..Contents available in the book………..
- Metastatic infection caused by translocation of bacteria.
- Metastatic injury related to microbial products which enter the blood circulation.
- Metastatic inflammation due to immune injury.
The junctional epithelium and sulcular epithelium are the primary sites for host-bacterial interactions. The junctional epithelial cells initiate the host inflammatory response against the microbial challenge 16. However, due to increased microbial load and virulence, the epithelial barrier is breached, creating ulcerated areas from where microorganisms and their products get an access to the underlying connective tissue and blood capillaries. During brushing and eating, these ulcerated areas provide a gateway for the entry of microorganisms into the systemic blood circulation.
Following the entry of bacteria and their products like lipopolysaccharides (LPS), a number of inflammatory mediators, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β, prostaglandin E 2 (PGE2) and γ-interferon (γ-IFN), are produced. Upon entry into the blood circulation, these inflammatory mediators contribute to the global inflammatory burden 17. This mechanism has been considered as the primary mechanism of periodontitis-related systemic diseases. Because of the improved methods of sampling, cultivation, and identification of bacteria, recent research work has revealed the presence of microorganisms well known to be oral colonizers in a variety of infected non-oral sites 18. Certain bacterial antigenic ………..Contents available in the book ………..Contents available in the book ………..Contents available in the book ………..Contents available in the book………..
Evidence-based clinical practice
Evidence-based practice has been defined as the practice of dentistry that integrates the best available evidence with clinical experience and what a patient prefers in making clinical decisions. A good quality research work has provided us with the evidence of the relationship of periodontitis with cardiovascular conditions 21-23, diabetes mellitus 24-27, preterm low birth weight 28-30, respiratory conditions 31, 32 etc. A lot of research work has been done in the field of periodontal medicine. Presently, we have a large number of quality epidemiological and microbiological-immunological studies that have lent credence to the concept that periodontal disease may be a separate risk factor for cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, and respiratory disease, as well as preterm delivery of low birth weight infants 33, 34. Along with this, there is evidence that periodontitis is related to chronic neurodegenerative disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, which is a leading cause of dementia in individuals over 65 years of age. Multiple mechanisms have been proposed for association of periodontal and systemic diseases which shall be discussed in the upcoming articles.
Conclusion
In this chapter, we discussed the basic mechanisms which relate periodontal diseases to systemic diseases. A lot of research has been done, relating periodontal diseases to various systemic diseases including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, pulmonary infections etc. Periodontitis has also been shown to have a positive correlation with pre-term low birth weight. However, it should be remembered that the proposed pathways relating periodontal to systemic diseases are based on the three basic mechanisms which have been explained earlier in this chapter. In the next chapters, we shall discuss individual systemic diseases and their link to periodontal diseases, in detail.
References
References are available in the hard-copy of the website.
Periobasics: A Textbook of Periodontics and Implantology
The book is usually delivered within one week anywhere in India and within three weeks anywhere throughout the world.