Periodontal disease or gum disease is extremely common and affects three out of every four adults over the age of 35 in the UK.1 The British Dental Association says 80 percent of the UK population have the condition, with six million of us suffering from the most aggressive form.
Although most individuals suffer gum inflammation and bleeding from time to time, around 10 percent of the population suffer from the aggressive form of the disease—periodontitis, which results in receding gums, halitosis, mobile teeth and eventual tooth loss. Gum disease isn’t something that just happens later in life, more than half of teenagers also have some form of gum disease.
Understanding periodontal disease
Periodontal disease is an infectious, inflammatory and multifactorial disease, which affects the supporting tooth structures: gums, bones and periodontal ligaments. It is the main result of a polymicrobial infection caused by a number of pathogenic bacteria that settle in the spaces between the teeth and gums—where they colonise. Each individual’s genetic makeup and autoimmune response are indicators of the predisposition to the disease.
From a general health perspective, numerous studies over the past decade have demonstrated that gum disease is having a widespread and devastating impact not only on patients’ oral health but also on their general health. These studies show a direct link to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, low birth weight, preterm birth and more recently cancer and Alzheimer’s.
The traditional method of treatment for the disease is to use antibiotics, antiseptics, SRP (scaling and root planning), invasive surgery or tooth extraction. There were no significant advances in treatment over the last 50 years despite the abundance of available, new technologies to better diagnose and treat the disease. But today, for the first time, a new cure has been developed as a solution for aggressive cases of the common ailment.
A new, customised treatment for periodontal disease
Dr Francesco Martelli, an Italian dentist and researcher, has studied the effects of periodontal disease on general health all his life. He wanted to understand why some patients responded to conventional treatment therapy while others did not. This led to investigating the nature of periodontal inflammation and an understanding of the relationship between the infection triggered by periodontal bacteria—the type of bacteria present in the mouth—and the reaction of an individual’s immune system. The Italian doctor put his efforts into turning his research into a practical treatment for the disease.
From there, he developed a laser-based non-surgical treatment2 for periodontal disease. The breakthrough solution gives patients the chance to get a flapless treatment that can save their teeth, putting the bone in conditions to regenerate and, ultimately, be pain-free.
Diagnosis with this method is thoroughly comprehensive. It involves microbiological, genetic and enzymatic analyses in conjunction with scaling root surface debridement and an Nd: YAG laser—all guided by a microscope, which allows the dentist or therapist to work more precisely thanks to the increased magnification that would otherwise not be possible with the naked eye. This patient-customised approach involves selectively removing those pathogens, which cause inflammation and disease.
Dr Martelli’s passion for his revolutionary treatment is fuelled by killing off the periodontal pathogens, but also triggering the immune system into action and bio-stimulating the bone marrow stem cells surrounding the teeth. This customised approach to treatment has the potential to restore the long-term periodontal health and prevent relapse. In just three words, the key points of the treatment are: ‘decontamination, bio-stimulation and biomodulation’.
According to research published by Dr Martelli and co-researchers in the European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, this treatment can ‘wipe out’ periodontal disease. The study, the world’s largest to date with the longest recorded microbiological follow-up period of 24 months, demonstrated Dr Martelli’s treatment successfully eradicated advanced periodontal disease in 100 percent of 2,683 patients, regardless the severity of the disease and the composition of the microflora.
Why treat periodontal disease?
Lack of proper periodontal care can have serious oral and general health consequences. It is crucial to recognise the importance of oral health in a person’s overall well-being. Early diagnosis and correct treatment of periodontal disease are about so much more than curing bad breath, it is nothing less than the prerequisite for a patient’s entire health.
IMI Clinics offer Perioblast™, a minimally-invasive approach, combining the use of the Nd:YAG laser and a surgical microscope. This precise approach has proven to be consistently effective in restoring long-term periodontal health, no matter the form of the disease (aggressive or chronic).
Find out more at http://imiclinic.co.uk/.
1 (Gum disease information Bureau).
2 PerioblastTM – Periodontal Bio Laser Assisted Therapy
