Periodontal Manifestations of Local and Systemic Diseases PDF

The periodontium is a part of the oral tissues of great interest to dentists and particularly to the periodontal team. The importance has now been recognized to extend beyond local disorders to a wide range of conditions that may affect periodontal health. The most recent classification proposed by the International Workshop for the Classification of Periodontal Diseases and Conditions in 1999 is testimony to an increasing scientific interest of the international dental community in periodontal pathology, and the wide range oflocal and systemic disease affecting the periodontium. This atlas aims to illustrate and evaluate diseases targeting the gingivae and periodontium from the viewpoint of oral medicine and to increase further the awareness and interest of dentists, periodontologists and hygienists regarding the vast spectrum of diseases that can affect the gingivae and periodontium. It is also hoped that it will help open new scientific and professional avenues by demonstrating the important role of these professional groups in the art and science of medicine. The ultimate beneficiaries should be our patients – not least since several of the diseases may be life-threatening and require special expertise in early diagnosis and treatment.

Due to the greater variety of diseases affecting the gingivae and periodontium than was recognized in the above-mentioned workshop, we encountered a number of difficulties in adhering fully to that classification and thus elected to adopt a classification based on three main groups of pathologic entities: local diseases, manifestations of systemic disorders in the gingivae and periodontium, and cysts, tumours and neoplasms. For each entity we present the clinical manifestations, frequency of involvement of the gingivae and other structures in the mouth and elsewhere, differential diagnosis, laboratory work-up, and principles of treatment. The illustrations are arranged so that for every disease there is one or more illustration demonstrating representative lesions of the gingivae. In addition, for the systemic diseases, we have often included photographs of lesions of other areas of the oral mucosa, extra-oral mucosal surfaces, or the skin, in order to better emphasize the spectrum of clinical manifestations. We are certain that, with more comprehensive biological and medical education, dentistry will open new horizons in health services within the next few years. This was the motivation for the publication of the present work, and it is our hope that the atlas will help in the realization of this goal.