Routine oral care to prevent or treat periodontitis has now been proven to play a vital role in reducing toxins and inflammation in the blood. It doesn’t end there. Periodontal Treatment has also been proven to improve cognitive functions in liver cirrhosis patients. Read on to learn more.
Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis is a quickly growing epidemic in the United States. It refers to the presence of scar tissues on the liver. If left untreated, the condition can lead to permanent liver failure. Complications of liver cirrhosis often include infections throughout the patient’s body, hepatic encephalopathy and toxins build up in the brain caused by chronic liver disease. The main symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy range from mood changes and confusion to blurry vision and blurry vision and impaired cognitive function.
The Link Between Cirrhosis And Periodontal Treatment
Research studies show that cirrhosis patients experience changes in their gut and salivary microbiota. Salivary microbiota in this case refers to bacteria that populate their gastrointestinal tract and mouth. The bacteria leads to gum diseases like periodontitis as well as advanced cirrhosis related complications.
Treatment
Dental infections stand out as the main port of entry through which toxins and bacteria enter the blood vessels and increase systematic inflammation. This should not be a problem in a healthy body mainly because bacteria can be neutralized by the immune system. However, when it comes to cirrhosis, timely clearance of bacteria, circulating endotoxins and inflammatory mediators become compromised because of hepatic dysfunction.
Alcohol
It is a known fact that alcohol can cause liver cirrhosis. That is because it interferes with tissue healing as well as protein metabolism which is processes that are related to periodontal disease. It gets worse where a patient abuses alcohol and the same time, neglects his or her dental hygiene.
Periodontal Treatment
Penicillins-cephalosporins, quinolones, macrolides and clindamycin stand out as the most effective antibiotic groups used to treat periodontitis. These options are ideal for patients who suffer from both cirrhosis and periodontitis for several reasons. For starters, penicillin and any of its derivatives very rarely cause liver damage. There is also the fact that penicillin is asymptomatic.
Before any of the aforementioned treatment procedures are administered, dentists and other medical personal first conduct preoperative management. This involves thorough analysis of a patient’s medical background. Evaluation of the desired dental treatment must also be performed. Histories of bleeding in previous procedures are always taken into account as they often mean a patient may have coagulation disorders. This is because cirrhosis can cause low plasma levels of coagulation because of poor absorption and processing of vitamin K. that is why evaluation of the hemostatic function of a patient must be done before any dental procedure that involves bleeding.
Point To Note
Cirrhosis and periodontitis are both conditions that can be aggravated by your lifestyle habits. This means you can take active measures to prevent them. To prevent cirrhosis, avoid alcohol abuse. Then to prevent periodontitis, observe thorough dental hygiene. Visit your dentist regularly, floss daily and brush your teeth twice a day – in the morning after breakfast and before going to bed.