Periodontitis, also called alveo-dental arthritis, is the inflammation of periodontal disease. Formerly called alveolar-dental ligament, periodontium is the connective tissue that surrounds the root of the teeth and separates it from the bone. Its average width oscillates from 0,2 to 0,3 mm. 

Dental arthritis corresponds to the inflammation of periodontal disease, that is to say the body’s reaction to a physical, chemical or infectious attack.

Infectious causes

Pulp infection. At the apex of the tooth, there is no border between the pulp and the periodontium, which means that if the infection of the pulp resulting from a large caries spreads to the ligament, it is likely to cause its inflammation. Microbial toxins, products resulting from the destruction of necrotic pulp tissue and dead microorganisms will cause the inflammatory reaction of the organism at the ligament level.

Some untimely inoculations may also be the cause of periodontitis, such as the penetration of a foreign body into the periodontium (bite by a toothbrush, toothpick or fishbone) or food jam between the teeth .

Sometimes acute sinusitis can cause periodontitis in the teeth closest to the infected sinuses.

Physical causes

Therapeutic endodontic accidents (bites, chemical burns) can cause periodontitis, as can many traumas associated with infections (bruxism, harmful tic, occlusal disorder, etc.)

Chemical causes

Periodontitis can appear as a reaction to products used by the practitioner in the paste used to fill a tooth. It’s drug arthritis. The sensitivity to the products differs from one individual to another so that in some people there is still periodontitis even if all precautions have been taken. 

All the factors mentioned above are likely to cause periodontitis. The body also has the ability to memorize the factor that precipitated the inflammation. This always begins with a acute episode pus becomes chronic if the cause persists, but at any time the inflammation can again go through an acute state: periodontitis is said to “warm up”.

Here are the typical symptoms of periodontitis:

• Localized congestion then onset of edema.
• Possible formation of one or more abscesses.
• Clear redness in the gum area.
• Long tooth sensation.
• Masticatory impotence due to the painful mobility of the affected tooth.
• Continuous, stabbing pain (varying in intensity) that is resistant to analgesics.

Heat (eg hot drink) and pressure increase compression of nerve fibers and typically increase pain. This pain exhausts the patient because it hardly ever stops, unlike pain associated with dental pulpitis. 

The treatment consists above all in removing the factor (s) causing the inflammation. In the meantime, the tooth must be put to rest and be used as little as possible. Anti-inflammatory drugs will be prescribed for the pain, and possibly antibiotics in cases of infectious origin. The crisis over, it is imperative to consider a long-term treatment vis-à-vis the cause of the inflammation (correcting an occlusive disorder, extracting an excessively decayed tooth or devitalizing it, fitting a splint in the event of a harmful tic, etc. .).