Pyorrhea or periodontitis refers to an advanced stage of periodontal disease in which the ligaments and bones that support the teeth become inflamed and infected. It is usually a result of gingivitis a periodontal disease that infects the gum through plaque leading to the formation of a pocket between the teeth that trap the plaque. If left untreated pyorrhea can cause halitosis (bad breath) in which the jaw bone is slowly eroded due to painful and bleeding gums. Eventually the loss of tooth support can cause tooth loss and this disease is the primary cause of tooth loss in adults. In order for this stage to be avoided those with pryorrhea should contact their periodontist for treatment.

Considering that periodontal (gum) diseases are usually painless it is not unusual for it to go undetected until it is too late. Early symptoms of pyorrhea are similar to the symptoms of gingivitis and include a visible change in the gums. Gums will appear shiny and bright-red or red-purple. Additionally affected gums tend to bleed easily (even from regular teeth brushing) are swollen and are tender when touched but otherwise painless.

The causes of pyorrhea include health problems (such as chronic illness glandular disorders blood disease) improper diet (eating the wrong food excess sugar) and general unhealthy lifestyle choices (smoking drug use excessive alcohol.) The disease is also often related to a deficiency of vitamin C bioflavonoids calcium folic acid or niacin.

Considering that plaque forms on teeth as quickly as four hours after brushing the best method in preventing pyorrhea and periodontal diseases in general is through daily brushing and flossing with additional professional cleaning.

Generally early signs of periodontal diseases are detected by one’s regular dentist. If detected early periodontal diseases can be treated through non-surgical procedures such as scaling and root planning (removing plaque and tartar from deep gum pockets through the thorough cleaning of root surfaces and also smoothing the tooth root to remove bacterial viruses.)

Surgical treatment may be required in instances of pyorrhea. The four most common periodontal surgical treatments are pocket reduction procedures (recommended when daily at-home oral hygiene and regular dentistry visits are insufficient due to pockets becoming too deep) regenerative procedures (recommended when the bone supporting the teeth have been destroyed this procedure regenerates the lost tissue and bone) crown lengthening (recommended when one’s teeth have been covered with excessive gum tissue this procedure reshapes the excess gum and bone tissue in order to further expose the natural tooth) and soft tissue grafts (recommended when gum recession leads to exposed tooth roots this procedure is used to cover roots or develop gum tissue if it is absent.)