Plaque and Calculus Flashcards
What is the most significant aetiological factor of periodontal disease?
Plaque
What are the two types of bacteria in the biofilm?
Planktonic bacteria that float and sessile ones that sit on hard surfaces.
Once bacteria in the biofilm enter cells, what are they called?
Intracellular colonisation
Grouping the microflora in 3 groups:
- Indigenous species
- Supplemental species
- Transcient flora
1 = almost always present in a stable relationship with the host and dont compromise the host survival
2 = present in small numbers but if the environment changes they can become more abundant
3 = pass through but do not become established
What is the definition of dental biofilm?
Complex microbial community that develops on the tooth surface (and other hard, non-shedding materials), embedded in a matrix of polymers of bacterial and salivary origin
What are the 4 stages in plaque formation and explain these?
- Acquired pellicle formation
- Adherence of the pioneer microbial colonisers to the pellicle
- Co-aggregation (enrichment of the microbial present)
- Maturation of plaque
- Bacteria cannot attach to clean enamel surface. Saliva is rich in glycoproteins, phosphoproteins and lipids that can attach. Enamel surface is negatively charged due to phosphate groups. Attachment of positively charged glycoproteins and the other molecules onto enamel surface. First molecules attached are low molecular size. Bacteria do not take part in this first stage
- Some of the first bacterial colonisers can now attach to the pellicle. This is because some biofilm bacteria have the receptors to recognise the proteins on the pellicle and attach to those proteins. Oral bacteria go through ‘feast and famine’. Once the bacteria are firmly attached, the colonisers produce extracellular polysaccharide as food storage. The EPS produced are glucan and fructan, both produced from sucrose. Pioneer species produce products that other bacteria need to survive. Conc of oxygen decreases.
- The plaque microflora becomes more diverse. Alteration of local environment by initial colonisers (receptors, nutrients, CO2). Bridging species provide lots of adhesions to bridge early and late colonisers.
- After 7-10 days, the growth rate slows down. Continuous production of EPS (for structural integrity and protection). Co-ordination of activities. Shear forces from masticator limit further expansion.
What can some bacteria do which is not beneficial to the host?
Produce toxins, produce organic acid to lower pH
What is materia alba?
Soft accumulation of bacteria, tissue cells and food particles that lack organisation. They are loosely attached to the tooth surface and soft oral tissues. No extracellular polysaccharide.
Give the main details on calculus
- Creamy white colour that can turn yellow-brown
- Mineralised plaque
- Can take 2-14 days to form
- Matures over time
- Not a causative for periodontitis as calculus is covered by a layer of biofilm
- Acts as a plaque trap
- Professional removal needed
- Supra and sub gingival
- Plaque retentive factor
- Mineralisation relies on bacterial presence
How does the calculus form from plaque?
Need a saturated solution of Ca2+ and PO4-. Bacteria needed to initiate crystal growth. A suitably high pH needed to promote mineralisation.
(Microbes provide the matrix and drives precipitation of the mineral salts from saliva (calcium and phosphate). Bacteria initiate the crystal growth and a high pH is needed which is found in saliva.)
What causes supra gingival calculus and what causes sub gingival calculus?
Supra = due to precipitation of mineral salts in the saliva
- Found in sites of saliva pooling
- Easier to remove
Sub = due to presence of mineral salts in inflammatory exclude
- High pH in pockets
- More tenacious and difficult to remove
What are the local and systemic factors leading to periodontitis?
Local - promote accumulation of dental plaque (calculus, restoration with overhanging margins)
Systemic - modify the host-bacteria interaction (puberty, pregnancy, immunodeficiency, age, race, gene polymorphism, smoking, medication)
Periodontal tooth destruction:
What two things cause this and what % of the destruction do they cause?
- Direct action of the micro-organims (20%)
2. De-regulated inflammatory response to dental plaque, disruption of protective innate immunity (80%)
What factors make a bacteria perio-pathogenic?
- Have to be able to attach to the host tissue or biofilm (via adhesions on early colonisers)
- Multiplication at a susceptible site (producing proteases to get nutrients and inhibiting other bacterial growth)
- Evading host defence - inhibiting the host immune response e.g. supressor T cell induction. leukotoxin
- Damage host tissues via enzymes (collagenase), bone resorbing factors (LPS), cytotoxins (ammonia)
Give some direct and indirect ways of tissue damage
- Cytotoxins
- LPS (bone resorption)
- Prostaglandins (humoral immunity, bone resorption)
- Antigens
- Proteases (evasion of host defences)
- Lysosomal enzymes and free radicals (tissue damage)
Outline some of the key parts of the model of periodontal diseases
Need to start with specific bacteria producing antigens and LPS. This activates the host immuno-inflammatory response. Host produced cytokines and enzymes leading to connective tissue and bone metabolism. This leads to clinical expression of the diease.
Give a few cytokines that the biofilm can produce and their function
IL1 - osteoclast activation, inhibiting neutrophils
IL6 - increases bone resorption, activates T cells
IL8 - chemotaxis of neutrophils
IL10 - anti inflammatory suppression
PGE2 - vascular permeability, vasodilation, bone resorption
TNF - increases IL1 production and phagocytosis
TGF - anti inflammatory repair potential
What happens if we have more bacteria or more host?
If there is more bacteria - lead to direct tissue damage.
Most host response - indirect affect to the tissue damage.
Give a few details on the non-specific plaque theory
- Caused by non-specific overgrowth of all bacteria in dental plaque
- All bacteria in dental plaque can lead to periodontal disease
- Doesn’t distinguish between different bacteria, its due to quantity of the plaque
- Host has a threshold capacity to detoxify and disease would only occur if this threshold was passed
- However not all patients get periodontal diseases from gingivitis - downside to the theory as this cannot be explained
- Current treatment is non-surgical and we remove the plaque (remove all the plaque non-specifically). We base our current treatment on this theory