Did you know that new research and medical advancements have found a current medicine that is used for other purposes (used to treat intestinal worms) to treat Periodontitis?
A Serious Gum Disease
Periodontitis is a serious gum disease that destroys the soft tissue and bone that currently support the teeth. It can cause tooth loss or worse, an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and/or other serious health problems. Where it is very common, the good news is that it is largely preventable. Healthy gums are firm and pale pink. Due to poor oral hygiene, the gums swell; become red or even purplish and sensitive to the touch. There are different stages or classes of periodontitis, with chronic being the most common in adults.
How Periodontitis is Treated
Typically, a dentist scrapes off the dental plaque, a polymircrobial biofilm. The drawback to this less favored and costly ordeal is that the biofilm often grows back, creating the need to do the process again. However, the new drug, Oxantel was found to inhibit the growth of the biofilm by interfering with enzyme bacteria that is needed for periodontitis to grow and multiply. They also showed that Oxantel disrupted the growth of polymicrobial biofilms containing P. gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, and Treponema denticola, a typical composition of periodontal biofilms.
The good news is that while there is still much research and practice integration to be done with the new drug and it’s uses, we are seeing an answer to the very serious Periodontitis. The reason it can be so serious in adults is that the pathogenic bacteria can enter the blood stream and increase heart problems, cancer, arthritis and even dementia. Stay tuned to San Antonio Cosmetic Dental Associates for some of the most current, safe and innovative dental procedures to keep your oral and overall health the best it can be.
*Source: Mayo Clinic; Medical News Today, Science Daily