What is popularly called "Pyorrhoea" (Periodontal Disease) is one of the most common pathologies in adults. It is believed to affect some 70% of the population over the age of 35 and, above all, people who smoke, who have a poor brushing technique and those with a family history (genetic and environmental component).

It is a disease that progresses slowly and almost without symptoms to bring it to one’s attention, this is why it is important for us to diagnose it through clinical examination (inspection, presence of bleeding, slight inflammation of the edges of the gums, slight suppuration and using the probing technique: we use instruments called periodontal probes which enable us to measure the depth of the “sac” between the tooth and the gum. With millimetre markings on the probe, we can obtain different measurements depending on the areas studied. 

Probe depths:

• Under 3 millimetres: the periodontum has not been affected (there is no periodontitis), just Gingivitis (superficial inflammation without sac). Its cure is very simple with Cleaning (Prophylaxis)



• Between 3-6 millimetres: there is periodontal affectation (periodontitis). The Scaling and Root Planing Technique must be performed (what is known as curettage). It is carried out by quadrants and has a good prognosis always providing the patient follows all hygiene instructions “to the letter” (brushing technique, type of brush, type of toothpaste and mouthwash, use of dental floss, "interprox", interdental stimulators, super-floss (R) revealers of bacterial plaque, etc)



• Over 6 millimetres: A treatment must be performed to separate the gum with local anaesthetic (Periodontal Surgery) as the problem is so deep that we cannot see the area correctly unless we lift up the gum a few millimetres. It is performed with local anaesthetic and the post-operative recovery is not at all painful if the medication prescribed is adhered to.

Stopping smoking and correct hygiene hugely improves the prognosis.

Periodontal Disease (Pyorrhoea) only appears in advanced cases where the recession of the gums is very notable, as is the mobility of various teeth, bleeding and pain, with acute recurrent infections (periodontal abscesses). In these cases, the solution is complicated if we want to preserve the teeth, but nowadays, thanks to enormous advances in Implant Dentistry, we can replace the lost teeth in a manner as physiological as the natural teeth (anchored where the roots of the natural teeth were).