Role of occlusion in periodontal disease

This article deals with establishing a new link between trauma from occlusion and periodontal pockets based on the know-how and background gradually developed. To provide a better understanding to the reader, a historical perspective is firstly presented. The main features on the controversy of the role played by trauma from occlusion on the physiologic behavior of the periodontal structures are shown, together with how deviations from the normal characteristics of this relationship itself affect the integrity of the periodontal tissues when or associated with dental biofilm in the presence or not of periodontal pockets have arisen. The literature provides evidence showing that the very first publication to establish a strong correlation between trauma from occlusion and periodontal pockets in humans was of Latin-American origin. However, subsequently, trauma from occlusion was mostly evaluated by an American group, followed by a Scandinavian group, yet with some contributions from the Latin-American group. Basically trauma from occlusion has been correlated with periodontal pockets in view of the fact that these would render the periodontal supporting tissues more amenable to the spread of inflammation of biofilm-related periodontal pockets. This would facilitate the fast deepening of periodontal pockets, influencing the generation of infrabony periodontal pockets or suprabony periodontal pockets that are deeper than in areas without trauma from occlusion. The factors related to these different behaviors are discussed. Several clinical cases are presented showing evidence that corroborates the possibility of an actual interrelationship between trauma from occlusion and periodontitis. Theoretical evaluations based on recent advances of the mechanisms involving molecular modulation in physiological and altered occlusal functions, as well as on research data, and evaluations from data of clinical cases, support the assumption that trauma from occlusion and periodontitis may embrace the unique pathologic condition of the associated lesion trauma from occlusion plus periodontitis or act independently even if both co-exist simultaneously in a particular case. The link between both conditions that was emphasized as definitively necessary in order for an associated lesion to develop is that both lesions, namely trauma from occlusion and periodontitis, occur in their destructive stage at exactly the same time. This involvement would explain why so many different data are presented in the literature and hopefully will shed some light for development of new methodologies of research. Clinical cases were selected to present a treatment philosophy on the subject.