Dental implant therapy Dental implant therapy has provided us with one of the most promising tooth replacement procedures. Over the last few decades, there has been an increasing use of endosseous (in-bone) implants as a means of providing a foundation for intra-oral prosthetic devices 1, from full arch dentures to single crowns or other devices…
Read MoreIntroduction 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…
Read MoreWhat is inflammation? In simple words, inflammation is the response of the living tissue to injury. The word inflammation is derived from Latin word ‘inflammare’ (to set on fire). It is a well-organized sequence of events that take place in a living tissue following an injury due to mechanical trauma, chemical trauma, toxins and infection…
Read MoreIntroduction 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…
Read MoreIntroduction 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…
Read MoreIntroduction to desquamative gingivitis Desquamative gingivitis (DG) is the clinical term given to the gingival manifestation of mucocutaneous diseases. This gingival condition is characterized by intense erythema, sloughing off or ulceration that is commonly associated with some kind of systemic autoimmune disease. This condition is non-plaque associated and may be localized to the marginal gingiva,…
Read MoreIntroduction to gingival enlargement Gingival enlargement or gingival overgrowth is the increase in the size of gingiva. It is a common clinical condition usually seen in acute and chronic gingival inflammation. The enlargement of the gingival tissue may also occur due to many other reasons, which include drug intake associated, conditioned, neoplastic or false enlargements.…
Read MoreIntroduction to periodontitis The 2017, World Workshop on the classification of periodontal and peri-implant diseases and conditions defines periodontitis as a chronic multifactorial inflammatory disease associated with dysbiotic plaque biofilms and characterized by progressive destruction of the tooth-supporting apparatus 1. This disease may progress rapidly or slowly and has been presently categorized in Stages and…
Read MoreIntroduction 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…
Read MoreIntroduction 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.…
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