History
Investigation into the causes and characteristics of periodontal diseases began in the 18th century with pure clinical observation, and this remained the primary form of investigation well into the 19th century. During this time, the signs and symptoms of periodontal diseases were firmly established:
- Rather than a single disease entity, periodontal disease is a combination of multiple disease processes that share a common clinical manifestation.
- The etiology (cause) includes both local and systemic factors.
- The disease consists of a chronic inflammation associated with loss of alveolar bone.
- Advanced disease features include pus and exudates.
- Essential aspects of successful treatment of periodontal disease include initial debridement and maintenance of proper oral hygiene.
The advent of microscopy allowed later studies performed at the turn of the 19th century to report the histological structures and features of periodontal lesions, but most were limited to advanced stages of the disease. Progress in microscopy in the 1960s, such as advances in histopathology and stereology, allowed researchers to focus on earlier stages of inflammatory processes while the innovation of experimentally-induced periodontal disease in both human and animal models allowed for more detailed research into the temporal progression of the pathogenesis of plaque-induced periodontal disease.
Historically, chronic plaque-induced periodontal diseases were divided into three categories:
- subclinical gingivitis
- clinical gingivitis
- periodontal breakdown
Read more about this topic: Periodontal Disease
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—Josiah Royce (18551916)
“We know only a single science, the science of history. One can look at history from two sides and divide it into the history of nature and the history of men. However, the two sides are not to be divided off; as long as men exist the history of nature and the history of men are mutually conditioned.”
—Karl Marx (18181883)
“Modern Western thought will pass into history and be incorporated in it, will have its influence and its place, just as our body will pass into the composition of grass, of sheep, of cutlets, and of men. We do not like that kind of immortality, but what is to be done about it?”
—Alexander Herzen (18121870)