The severity of periodontal disease and the proper way to treat it often remained a mystery in the past until the infection’s damage progressed too extensively. It is often very aggressive and is well known to cause severe bone deterioration and tooth loss over time, but there is a new way to help dentists choose the best way to treat it. Keep reading to learn about how researchers at Columbia University Medical Center may have found the key to analyzing periodontal disease before it causes irreversible damage to tooth, gum, and bone tissue.

How Does the Genetic Signature Work?

The research team carefully thought about possible ways to predict the severity of periodontal disease as it progresses and decided that cancerous tissue analyzation methods may offer a good starting point. The team took samples of infected gum tissue from several patients to map each sample’s genetic signature. This process lead to the discovery that the genetic sequence of infected gum tissue varies in a similar manner to cancerous cells. The genetic signature of half of the samples were observed to be more aggressive than the composition of the other half.

How Can Patients Benefit from this Discovery?

This discovery will push the understanding of different types of periodontal disease forward. Dentists will soon be able to decide which treatment method will work best for each patient before the tissue destruction that accompanies gum disease is too extensive.

Keep checking Harris Dental’s blog for more information about new discoveries. Read the full article about genetic signature here.