Periodontal Basics
This is the normal depth generally associated with a healthy gingival sulcus.
What is 1–3 mm?
Red, swollen gingiva that bleeds when gently probed is, reversible without any bone loss most consistent with this condition.
What is gingivitis?
This instrument is essential for measuring periodontal pocket depths.
What is a periodontal probe?
“My gums only bleed when I floss.”
What is “That’s because they’re inflamed, not because floss is attacking you”?
The average person spends approximately 38 days doing this over their lifetime.
What is brushing their teeth?
This clinical finding occurs when the CEJ-to-gingival-margin distance is added to probing depth.
What is clinical attachment loss (CAL)?
A 7-mm probing depth with radiographic bone loss is most consistent with this type of periodontal finding.
What is a periodontal pocket?
During periodontal charting, this finding should be documented because it is an important indicator of inflammation.
What is bleeding on probing?
“I brush really hard because I want to get them extra clean.”
What is “Please stop trying to pressure-wash your gingiva”?
This animal has thousands of teeth over its lifetime because it continually loses and replaces them.
What is a shark?
This is the primary etiologic factor responsible for gingivitis and periodontitis.
What is dental plaque/biofilm?
This radiographic pattern follows the CEJs but is positioned farther apically than normal.
What is horizontal bone loss?
A patient returns every 3–4 months after active periodontal therapy for this phase of care.
What is periodontal maintenance?
“I haven’t been to the dentist in eight years, but I’ve never had any problems.”
What is “We’re about to find out”?
This common habit can generate biting forces of several hundred pounds.
What is bruxism/clenching and grinding?
Bleeding on probing is primarily an indicator of this process within the periodontal tissues.
What is inflammation?
An angular radiographic defect adjacent to a tooth is also known as this type of bone loss.
What is vertical/angular bone loss?
A patient has minimal plaque but continues to demonstrate increasing attachment and bone loss. This should prompt the hygienist to do this rather than simply continue routine maintenance.
What is reevaluate/refer for periodontal evaluation?
“I don’t floss because food never gets stuck between my teeth.”
What is “Food isn’t the only reason we floss”?
Before modern toothbrushes, people commonly cleaned their teeth using these small pieces of plant material.
What are chewing sticks/twigs?
A patient with interdental CAL ≥5 mm and bone loss extending to the middle third of the root or beyond generally meets criteria for at least this periodontal stage.
What is Stage III periodontitis?
A mandibular molar allows a probe to completely pass through the furcation from buccal to lingual.
What is a Class III furcation involvement?
Increasing probing depths, bleeding, suppuration and progressive radiographic bone loss around a previously treated tooth indicate this.
What is periodontal disease progression/recurrence?
“My implant can’t get a cavity, so I don’t really need to clean around it, right?”
What is “Meet peri-implantitis”?
Unlike humans, these animals have teeth that continuously grow throughout their lives, making chewing essential.
What are rodents?