HCDHA 2 CE Event: 'Preventing Periodontitis and Systemic Infection by Oral Pathogenic Bacteria'
Course Speaker:
Lawrence R Page, DDS, PhD
Course Description:
Periodontitis can destroy chewing function, cause halitosis and ruin facial esthetics. It certainly interferes with social interaction, is psychologically damaging and expensive to treat. In addition the same oral pathogenic bacteria causing periodontitis infect many bodily sites and appear to contribute to heart disease, stroke and even dementia and Alzheimer’s disease as well as other life destroying and fatal diseases.
We will cover what you need to know about how oral biofilms function and become pathogenic and how they can influence our bodies and even minds by molecular signaling for their advantage; also how our bodies signal biofilms to try to prevent them from becoming pathogenic.
There are easy inexpensive ways to determine who is at risk for periodontitis using DNA detection testing both for screening and post-treatment monitoring. There are also effective patient self-care methods to prevent pathogenic biofilms from developing.
We will present the commercial DNA technology and patient methods for stopping these destructive infections.
The technology exists to stop people from developing periodontitis and systemic infection by oral bacteria.
Objectives:
Participants should understand:
- Biofilm bacteria coordinate their activities for the benefit of the entire biofilm.
- Biofilms act like a multicellular organism.
- Pathogenesis is advantageous for biofilm nutrition.
- Pathogenic oral bacteria infect many parts of the body and probably are involved in many systemic diseases.
- Biofilms communicate with our bodies using small molecules to alter body function for their advantage.
- Our bodies communicate back with biofilms to try to prevent pathogenesis.
- Our defenses ability to prevent pathogenic biofilms is genetically determined.
- People susceptible to periodontitis must continually disrupt marginal subgingival biofilms to prevent destruction and systemic spread of pathogenic bacteria.
- Young people susceptible to periodontitis can be identified by the presence of pathogenic biofilms before destruction using DNA probes, anaerobic cultures, microscopy or BANAzyme testing.
- DNA probe does not require special equipment or training to use and is the most useful method for screening people at high-risk for periodontitis.
- Which techniques are best for low-trauma marginal and when needed, subgingival biofilm disruption along with chlorine irrigation to prevent pathogenic biofilm formation.
- Systemic antibiotics must be used to affect all local tissue as well as distant bodily sites.
- Only systemic (not locally applied) antibiotics are used for treating high-risk periodontal bacteria and prevent their spread systemically.
- Periodontitis can be prevented.
- Preventing periodontitis will prevent systemic spread of oral pathogenic bacteria.