Focal Infection and Periodontitis: A Narrative Report and New Possible Approaches

Abstract

The “focal infection theory” is a historical concept based on the assumption that some infections may cause chronic and acute diseases in different districts of the body. Its great popularity spanned from 1930 to 1950 when, with the aim to remove all the foci of infection, drastic surgical interventions were performed. Periodontitis, a common oral pathology mainly of bacterial origin, is the most evident example of this phenomenon today: in fact, bacteria are able to migrate, develop and cause health problems such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, diabetes, and osteoporosis. The aim of this narrative report is to verify the hypothesis of the association between oral infections and systemic diseases by different ways of approach and, at the same time, to propose new kinds of treatment today made possible by technological progress. The analysis of the literature demonstrated a strong relationship between these conditions, which might be explained on the basis of the recent studies on microbiota movement inside the body. Prevention of the oral infections, as well as of the possible systemic implications, may be successfully performed with the help of new technologies, such as probiotics and laser.

Latest Concepts in Endodontic and Periodontal Management of Diabetic Patients

“…Historically, the provision of dental services focused heavily on the technical phases of dentistry, such as extractions, prosthetic replacements, caries management, and root canal therapy. Once the issue of focal infection came to the forefront in the early 1900s, a greater emphasis on the overall health of the patient came to bear on the dental profession and the potential for the interaction of oral disease, i.e., the role of microorganisms in the oral cavity and systemic disease was highlighted [ 1 ].…”

Analysis of microbiocenosis of a gingival sulcus and periodontal pockets of patients with periodontal diseases associated with systemic pathology

“…Therefore, the state of the immune system and the resistance of periodontal tissues to bacterial invasion are crucial in the modern concept of the etiology and pathogenesis of periodontal diseases [6]. Herpesvirus infections may impede the antibacterial host defense and alter periodontal cells to predispose bacterial adherence and invasion [7]. One of the problems of modern clinical dentistry is the increase in the incidence of chronic inflammatory pathology of the periodontium, which develops because of secondary immune deficiency [8].…”