Dental Disease and Peridontitis

Dental Disease and Peridontitis

A large percentage of tooth problems in humans and in animals, originates from inflammation of the gums.

According the Wikipedia, periodontitis comes from an inflammatory disease effecting the gum tissue. When this occurs, it causes a lack of support and survival of the teeth. Periodontitis or inflammation of the gum tissue, will cause progressive loss of alveolar bone around the teeth, and if left untreated, to the subsequent loss of teeth.

Have you ever been in a situation, when your pet had horrible breath, yet not a lot of plaque, but you were told your pet has dental disease and needs the teeth cleaned?

Have you ever been told that the dental disease will subside if the teeth are removed? If these procedures are done to cure the dental disease, why does the mouth still smell horrible? You are a responsible pet owner, and even though you subject your pet to regular anesthesia and plaque removal, your pet is still losing teeth.

Why is this happening? Could this be, because it is not a true dental disease affecting the teeth, but rather an antibody deficiency in the gums? The plaque, on the actual tooth may not be causing a problem unless the plaque is great enough to cause the gum associated with that tooth, to recede, leading to an exposed tooth root.

The cause of the problem, may be due to a hormonal antibody imbalance that is leading to a deficiency of the protective antibody for the gums, referred to as immunoglobulin IgA

By merely observing a small red line, at the base of the enamel, on the adjacent gum, will prove this out in 70% of the cases in cats and 30% of the cases in dogs. Occasionally the entire mouth can be inflamed and may be referred to, as stomatitis.

Often using antibiotics will help temporarily, because there is a bacterial infection, but its cause is from an IgA deficiency and a lack of protection of the oral, soft tissue.

If a simple blood sample is taken, and ACEIS as known as Plechner’s syndrome is tested for, and there is an IgA deficiency, cleaning the teeth for dental disease may not be the answer.

The blood sample must be sent to a qualified laboratory, in order to receive accurate results for both humans and for animals. The actual tests, handling of the sample, and the proper veterinary laboratory, are listed on my home page. Most human laboratories can also do this test.

Again, I will help make suggestions to your healthcare professional if need be.

These are only my thoughts and I hope they will help you and your pet keep your teeth healthier, for a longer time.

Sincerely,

Dr. AL Plechner