Daryl E. Malena DDS
  Periodontics
10838 Old Mill Road
Omaha, Nebraska 68154
402 330 4100

Periodontitis is the term applied to inflammatory gingival disease that has resulted in bone destruction around the teeth.  As with gingivitis, the bulk of the damage is caused by the body's own immune system in it's efforts to defend us from the  accumulation of oral bacteria in the sulcus space around the tooth.

Microscopic signs of gingivitis occur within three days after we begin to miss an area with our oral hygiene efforts, but the onset of periodontitis (indicated by the first identifiable bone destruction on X-rays) is much harder to predict.  It varies with the age, sex and genetic make-up of the patient, the specific bacterial species that are in the biofilm (the plaque), co-existing diseases and medications, smoking, the work load produced by the occlusion (the "bite") and very likely some other factors we have not yet discovered. 

While periodontitis is not always relentless in its rate of destruction, the longer it is allowed to exist the more of the tooth supporting bone is destroyed.  Periodontists can not regenerate much of the lost bone, so by the time there are loose teeth it is almost too late to treat it.  Thus early diagnosis, effective treatment, and reliable maintenance are critical to keeping your teeth. 

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