Epidemiology of Periodontal Diseases

Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease harming teeth''s support tissues due to specific microbes causing the slow erosion of ligament and bone resulting in pocket formation recession or both. Periodontal infection is initiated by specific invasive oral pathogens that colonize dental plaque biofilms on the tooth surface and the host immune response to inflammation plays a central role in disease pathogenesis. There is an equilibrium that exists between microbial challenge and the host''s immune response; any alteration to that with the addition of other modifying factors is responsible for the clinical manifestation of periodontal disease.