The influence of genetic variability on treatment outcomes has its effect both in medicine as well as in field of periodontics.While there have been dramatic successes in identification of mutations responsible for rare syndromic forms of periodontitis, few genetic polymorphisms reported for more complex genetic forms of periodontitis have been demonstrated to be clinically valid or to have clinical utility.This book reviews the fundamentals necessary to enhance functional polymorphisms for new therapeutic approaches to treat diseases and will allow the targeting of new and existing therapies...

Periodontitis is an inflammatory condition of the supporting tissues of the teeth. Intracellular enzymes are increasingly released from the damaged cells of periodontal tissues into the gingival crevicular fluid and saliva. It has been a great challenge to determine biomarkers for screening and predicting the early onset of disease (prognostic tests) or evaluating the disease activity and the efficacy of therapy.Various enzymes evaluated for the early diagnosis of periodontal disease are aspartate and alanine aminotransferases ( AST, ALT ), lactate dehydrogenase ( LDH ), creatine kinase ( CK...

Regeneration of supporting tissue to tooth surfaces affected by periodontitis has long been an ideal goal of periodontal therapy. Periodontitis affected root surfaces are hyper mineralized and contaminated with cytotoxic and other biologically active substances. Such surfaces are not biocompatible with adjacent periodontal cells, the proliferation of which is pivotal for periodontal wound healing. Traditional surgical and non-surgical periodontal therapies aim at arresting periodontal disease by removal of plaque-"invested" tissues from disease-affected roots. However complete removal appears...

Periodontal diseases are a group of conditions affecting the supporting structures of the dentition. The periodontal tissue consists of a specialized form of oral mucosa known as gingiva, which has a keratinized epithelium and covers the alveolar bone. Tobacco smoking is the main risk factor associated with chronic destructive periodontal diseases. Tobacco smoking is very common, with cigarettes being the main product smoked. Cigarette smoke is a very complex mixture of substances with over 4000 known constituents. These include carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, reactive oxidizing radicals,...

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of disease frequency in human populations and the application of this study to control health problems. The term study includes both surveillance, whose purpose is to monitor aspects of disease occurrence and spread that are pertinent to effective control, and epidemiologic research, whose goal is to harvest valid and precise information about the causes, preventions, and treatments for disease. The term disease refers to a broad array of health-related states and events including diseases, injuries, disabilities, and death.

The two most commonly involved pathogenic bacteria in the periodontal disease are Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans(A.a) and Porphyromonas gingivalis(P.g). A.a is a member of green cluster while P.g is a member of red cluster causing destruction of periodontal tissues. Their ability to invade the tissues through various virulence factors have made them gain importance in the field of periodontology. This book mentions about the history, taxonomy, prevalence, structure biochemical properties, Physical properties, site specificity and various virulence factors of these bacter

The advancement in science and technology in the medical field amends a path for embedding new treatment modalities to the challenges presented by the viable diseases.Photodynamic therapy(PDT), sometimes called photochemotherapy, is a form of phototherapy using nontoxic light-sensitive compounds that are exposed selectively to light, whereupon they become toxic to targeted malignant and other diseased cells. PDT has proven ability to kill microbial cells, including bacteria, fungi and viruses. This utilizes light to activate a photosensitizing agent in the presence of oxygen. The exposure of...

Probiotics are normally bacteria and other microorganisms that have beneficial effects on the human and animal health. Probiotic is a live microbial food supplement that beneficially affects the host animal or human by improving the intestinal microbial balance. In the context of the humans it also includes fermented food products, e.g. yogurt, curd, and lyophilized bacteria etc. Originally the term was used to denote microorganisms promoting the growth of other microorganisms but has now been extended to refer to viable microorganisms that promote or support a beneficial balance of the...