The destructive form of periodontal disease, periodontitis, affects approximately 50% of adults and over 60% of over 65 year olds, with severe periodontitis affecting 10–15% of populations. It is biologically plausible that chronic inflammation from periodontal disease has an impact on diabetes control and a number of epidemiological studies have highlighted associations between the two [read the full story…]
Review finds limited evidence for adjunctive use of the diode laser with non-surgical periodontal debridement
Diode-lasers have been used for soft-tissue applications such as incision, haemostasis, and coagulation so are considered to have potential for the treatment of periodontal disease. The aim of this review was to assess the adjunctive effect of a diode laser following non-surgical periodontal debridement (SRP) during the initial phase of periodontal therapy on the clinical [read the full story…]
Periodontal treatment improved several biomarkers of atherosclerotic disease
In recent years that has been increasing interest in the associations between periodontal disease and a range of systematic diseases. Towards the end of last year a joint workshop organized by the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) and the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) took place in Spain. The full papers from that meeting are [read the full story…]
Lack of evidence for the effectiveness of reconstructive procedures for treating peri-implantitis
As the number of dental implants being placed increases it seems inevitable that the numbers affected by peri-implantitis will also increase. Peri-implantitis is inflammation of the peri-implant tissues accompanied with changes in the level of crestal bone and with the presence of bleeding on probing and/or suppuration, with or without concomitant deepening of peri-implant pockets. [read the full story…]
Some evidence of improvement in metabolic control in diabetics, after treating periodontal disease
Many have suggested a two-way relationship between periodontitis and diabetes mellitus. Poor glycaemic control is associated with an increase risk of periodontal disease and in 2010 a Cochrane review (Simpson et al) estimated a 0.4% reduction of HbA1c associated with periodontal treatment. At that time Simpson et al noted that there were only a small [read the full story…]
Smokers may have poorer results after periodontal treatment
This latest critical summary from the ADA-EBD Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry looks at a review by Patel et al 2011 which addresses the question of whether smokers have poorer bone regeneration than non-smokers after periodontal treatment. The appraiser considered this to be a well-conducted systematic review and meta-analysis that included 10 articles with 458 participants [read the full story…]
Periodontal treatment, pre-term birth and low birth weight
Periodontal disease is common as is pregnancy and preterm labour is a complication in 10-15% of all pregnancies. It is therefore not unsurprising that an association between periodontal disease and pre-term labour has been noted in a number of studies. The aim of this latest review was quantify the relationship between periodontal disease, preterm birth [read the full story…]