Periodontitis Vs Gingivitis and its association with COVID-19

 

Periodontitis Vs Gingivitis, Are they different? 

Periodontitis and Gingivitis are oral diseases that are primarily GUM INFECTIONS. Both Periodontitis and Gingivitis are closely interrelated as one’s growth leads to the other. A recent study links these gum diseases with the deadly SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology. ‘The Biotech People’ has made it simple for you, so keep reading to find out whether you are at risk. 

Through this article, I’ll try to solve your usual doubts such as: 

• How to fix periodontal disease? 
• What are the 4 stages of periodontal disease?
• How painful is the periodontal treatment?
• Is there any relation between gum disease and COVID-19? 

And so on. 

WHAT IS PERIODONTITIS? 

Periodontitis (spelled as peri-o-don-tie-tis) is one of the serious infections of gums (aka gingiva or gingivae in plural form. Now you could relate it to ‘Gingivitis’, right? You’ll learn about it soon. Gums are the fleshy, reddish tissue lining your mouth. They seal the teeth surroundings as well. Okay! Let’s move further.

Periodontitis consists of 4 painful stages. 

1. Inflammation of gums. 
2. Early Periodontitis
3. Moderate Periodontitis 
4. Severe or Advanced Periodontitis 

 

Now let us see one-by-one. 

 INFLAMMATION OF GUMS

Inflammation of Gums is also known as GINGIVITIS. It is the very early stage of Periodontitis. So now you can make out that GINGIVITIS is no different from PERIODONTITIS. The pictures given below will help you think better in this context. 

 How can you identify this? 

Your teeth start decolorizing (turns reddish-yellow) you can call it PLAQUE, whatever you call it won’t make these bundled-up bacteria beautiful. Yeah, you read it right. PLAQUE is a bundle of food debris and bacteria spread across your teeth' linings. It starts when these bacteria grow exponentially in your mouth and that happens when you fail to brush well or forget to rinse your mouth after consuming a meal. 

 EARLY PERIODODNTITIS

 

As I already mentioned, gums seal the teeth tightly to the jaw, but at this stage of Periodontitis, you’ll start noticing small gaps (aka periodontal pockets) in between which is a big boon for these notorious bacteria. At this stage gum, bleeding is very common. If this stage gets worse then you might lose the bones buddy (the bone to which is the tooth is attached). Don’t worry you’re never too late, you should consult a dentist now. So that you’ve identified now you must remember this quote:

“THE BEST PROTECTION IS EARLY DETECTION.”

 So go ahead and book an appointment. 

MODERATE PERIODONTITIS

If the condition worsens then you cannot stop your teeth' bone loosening and eventually falls off. Oh god! I Can’t imagine that. You should keep in mind that this inflammatory reaction can spread throughout your body if you continue this careless streak. So don’t be like that get it done soon.

SEVERE PERIODONTITIS / ADVANCED PERIODONTITIS 

At this stage, the gums, tissues, bones, etc will be in their worst condition ever. This can ultimately to severe pain and cries. It is that painful dear reader. It can change your breath to foul-smelling air and may change the taste of the food you eat. And if you are diabetic then don’t even think of eating solid food because you are at higher risk of losing your tooth. 

 

 

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF PERIODONTITIS?

1. Bleeding gum.

2. Breath with odor. 

3. Gaps between gums and teeth. 

4. Pain while chewing and brushing.

5. Tartar (Hard calcified deposit on the tooth) formation.

6. Swollen gums

 7. Decolourization of gums and teeth.

HOW TO FIX PERIODONTITIS? 

YES! I’ll brief you about that. 

• Fixing periodontitis undoubtedly needs professional help such as a dentist or odonatologist. They’ll analyze your condition and suggest accordingly. 
• They’ll clean the plaque and tartar build-up from the a-z. Periodontal pockets will be cleaned deeply using fluoride. Fluoride is best to destroy oral bacteria. Using kinds of toothpaste having fluoride can be a good preventive measure against periodontitis. 
• Antibiotics are used in certain cases If the inflammation is persistent.      
• Surgery is conducted in very severe cases. 

WHAT IS THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PERIODONTITIS (GUM INFECTIONS) AND COVID-19? 

A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology sites that COVID-19 patients who have gum infections are 8.81X (approx. 9 times)  more likely to die. And overall risk stands at 3.67 times more severe than patients not having gum disease. 

This was hypothesised based on several other factors such as aging, gender, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) , smoking, asthma, HIV, Cancer, Oral dysbiosis ( Loss of homeostatic balance of the oral microbial communities), Liver diseases and Rheumatoid Arthritis. 

CONCLUSION: 

Though there are several reasons to say periodontal disease has association with COVID-19 illness it is based on several other factors as well. Therefore dear readers, there's no need to panic. COVID-19 illness research is still in its initial days so I urge you not to mis interpret and try to understand it with due respect.  

Note: The above mentioned factors is listed hereby taking the original research paper as reference. 

The original article is an open access article therefore none of the information provided is part of plagiarism.   

Reference: Is periodontal disease a risk factor for severe COVID-19 illness?

So now I'm sure that you know what's that association and what's Periodontitis is all about . Don't you? Anyways, we'll meet with another interesting content, till then BE SAFE AND ENJOY BIOLOGY! 

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