Star of Texas Dental Assisting School is the best Austin dental assisting school due to the extensive teaching and hands-on training from highly successful dental professionals. Students at Star of Texas not only learn the basics of dental assisting, but have the opportunity to do rotations through other areas of dentistry including Endodontics, Periodontics and Oral Surgery. We talked about Endodontics in our previous blog post, so now lets explore Periodontics.
Classification of Periodontal Disease
What is periodontal disease? Periodontal disease is an infectious process classified according to how much damage has been done to the structures surrounding the teeth, namely the gingiva (gums) and bone. It is an infection in your mouth. The better you clean your teeth to remove all the plaque bacteria, the less likely you will be to develop periodontal disease.
The following is a brief overview of the American Academy of Periodontology’s classification of the types of periodontal disease.
Type 1 – Gingival Disease: An inflammation or lesion of the gum characterized by changes of color, gingival form, position, surface appearance, and presence of bleeding and/or pus.
Type 2 – Chronic Periodontitis: An inflammation of the supporting structures of the teeth associated with plaque and calculus; the rate of progression is affected by local, systemic, or environmental factors. It can be further classified as localized or generalized.
Type 3 – Aggressive Periodontitis: Characterized by a rapid rate of periodontal disease progression in an otherwise healthy individual in the absence of large accumulations of plaque and/or calculus. It can be further classified as localized or generalized.
Type 4 – Periodontitis as a Manifestation of Systemic Disease: Periodontitis associated with blood or genetic disorders.
Type 5 – Necrotizing Periodontal Disease: Ulcerated and necrotic gums between the teeth and at the tooth margins. It can be further classified as necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis or necrotizing ulcerative periodontitis.
Type 6 – Abscesses of the Periodontium: A localized pus-forming infection of the periodontal tissue.
Type 7 – Periodontitis Associated with Endodontic Lesions:Localized deep periodontal pocket extending to the tip of the root of the tooth involving pulp death.
Type 8 – Developmental or Acquired Deformities and Conditions: Gingival disease or periodontitis started by localized tooth-related factors that modify or predispose to plaque accumulation or prevention of effective oral hygiene measures.
Due to the nature of the disease, most classifications will involve both a generalized and a localized diagnosis.
If you are interested in learning more about Periodontics or want to begin your career in the dental field, contact Star of Texas Dental Assisting School today!
