Category: Basic Periodontology

Introduction Various defense mechanisms active in the oral cavity include saliva, gingival sulcular/crevicular fluid, intact epithelial barrier (junctional epithelium), the presence of beneficial flora, migrating polymorphonuclear cells and other leukocytes, and local antibody production. The gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and saliva play an important role in the defense mechanism of the oral cavity. Both GCF…

Introduction to osteoimmunology Periodontal arena harbors a very complex biofilm which consists of numerous bacterial species 1, 2. As this biofilm matures, there is an increased accumulation of facultative anaerobic, Gram-negative microorganisms 3, which result in early vascular changes in the periodontium, with exudation and migration of phagocytic cells, including neutrophils and monocytes/ macrophages, into…

Introduction to matrix metalloproteinases The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of structurally and functionally related endoproteinases that are collectively capable of degrading most of the components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) 1, 2. They are calcium-dependent, zinc-containing endopeptidases, which are involved in tissue remodeling and degradation of the ECM, including collagens, elastins, gelatin, matrix…

Introduction to cytokines Cytokines (in Greek ”Cyto-”, cell; and ”-Kinos”, movement) are the substances that are secreted by specific cells of the immune system which carry signals locally between the cells, and thus have an effect on other cells. A special subset of cytokines is the interleukins (ILs), of which 23 different types have been…

Introduction to neutrophils Neutrophilic polymorphonuclear leukocytes or poly-morphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) play a crucial role in host defense by phagocytosing and killing the invading microorganisms, and in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases 1, 2. Neutrophils accumulate at the site of inflammation and can promote vascular injury through the secretion of granule constituents, reactive oxygen metabolites, and…

Introduction Tannerella forsythia, Treponema denticola, Prevotella intermedia, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Capnocytophaga species are major periodontal pathogens. These bacteria have been found in increased numbers in areas with active periodontal destruction. There are many other microorganisms also which are actively involved in periodontal disease progression but have not been well investigated. In the present discussion, we…

Introduction to Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) P. gingivalis is a Gram-negative, anaerobic, non-motile, asaccharolytic and black pigmented rod that form greenish-black colonies on blood agar plates 137. It is one of the major pathogens of chronic periodontitis 138, 139. This microorganism has been included in the red complex, which is strongly associated with periodontal destruction.…

Introduction to Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans This bacterium was first isolated by Klinger 81 from a cervicofacial actinomycotic lesion in 1912 and was named Bacterium actinomycetemcomitans. Topley and Wilson (1929) 82 reclassified it as Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Potts et al. (1985) 83 as Haemophilus actinomycetemcomitans. In 2006 it was again reclassified based on multilocus sequence analysis by…

Introduction to microbial etiology of periodontal diseases The research on the microbiology of periodontal health and diseases has been the focus of intense investigation for several decades. Microbial biofilm in the gingival sulcus around teeth is the most important cause of periodontal diseases. It is a structured community of bacterial cells enclosed in a self-produced…

Introduction to periodontal disease progression There has been a lot of research to understand the exact nature of periodontal diseases. Various researchers have tried to understand the rate of diseases progression in various forms of periodontitis. In the past, several patterns of disease progression have been described 135-138. The patterns of tissue destruction in the…