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exercise proper brushing such that some hard to reach areas are not properly cleaned so these areas are prone to develop the disease. No matter how often you brush but you don't perform it properly, it would still be useless.

Patients should brush their teeth properly, reaching all the surfaces. Flossing would also help to clean in-between teeth because these areas are impossible to be reached by the bristles of the toothbrush. In cases where the patient cannot properly perform oral hygiene measures due to compromised dexterity or if he had just undergone oral surgery, he could make use of chemical plaque control like the use of antiseptics and antibiotics.

Patients who are suffering from periodontal disease must visit their dentist to diagnose if the periodontal disease is gingivitis or periodontitis because there is a different approach of treatment between the two. Gingivitis, being reversible, would just need scaling and polishing as well as proper oral hygiene for the gingiva to be normal again. Periodontitis, being irreversible, would need to do more invasive cleaning through root planning because in periodontitis, there has already been loss of attachment, loss of bone, and increased pocket probing depths.

Patients should also visit their dentists on a regular visits and they should also undergo regular scaling and polishing to maintain a healthy oral environment every after 6 months. After performing scaling and polishing, patients should be recalled after a week to check the success of treatment, to remove residual subgigival deposits and most importantly to check and reinforce the patient's oral hygiene. This would not just treat periodontal disease as well as prevent its recurrence but, it would also help empower these patients in performing proper oral hygiene measures.

Reference:
Garcia, Celina. Lecture. Pathogenesis of Chronic Inflammatory Periodontal Disease. Periodontics 22. College of Dentistry, University of the Philippines Manila. 10 December 2004.

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