Periodontal disease is an inflammation of some or all of a tooth’s deep supporting structures. Today, it is one of the most common diseases in dogs.
Your dogs oral health is very important. Periodontal disease can lead to a number of health issues the most dangerous one being heart disease.
How Your Dog Gets Gum Disease
Gum disease starts with plaque which is not removed from your dog’s teeth and gums.
Whenever your pup eats, bits of food and bacteria collect around the gum line and form plaque. If this plaque isn’t removed, within a few days it hardens into tartar, which adheres to your dog’s teeth.
Tartar irritates the gums and results in inflammation, called gingivitis. Your dog’s gums will turn from a healthy pink color to red, and you may notice some bad breath.
If the tartar isn’t removed it will accumulate under your dog’s gums, eventually pulling the gums away from the teeth and creating small open spaces, or pockets, which are collection points for even more bacteria.
If the problem progresses to this point, your dog has developed irreversible periodontal disease. Periodontal disease can cause pain, abscess, infection, loose teeth and even bone loss.
How quickly plaque, tartar and gum disease develop in your dog’s mouth depends on a number of factors including his age, overall health, diet, breed, genetics, and the care his teeth receive from both you and your veterinarian.
How Gum Disease Leads to Heart Disease
While studies clearly show a significant link between periodontal disease and heart disease in both humans and dogs, exactly how one leads to the other isn’t yet well understood.
Researchers suspect, however, that the culprit is bacteria in the mouth which enters the bloodstream. Mouth tissue, known as oral mucosa, is rich with blood vessels which hasten the speed at which bacteria can enter your dog’s bloodstream and travel throughout her body.
If your dog has periodontal disease, the surface of her gums is weakened and compromised. The breakdown of gum tissue is the door through which mouth bacteria enters her bloodstream.
If your pup’s immune system doesn’t kill off the bacteria circulating in her blood, it can reach her heart and infect it. The Purdue study points to a strong correlation between gum disease and endocarditis, an inflammation (infection) of the heart’s valves or inner lining.
Another way gum disease may lead to heart problems involves certain strains of oral bacteria. Some types of bacteria found in your dog’s mouth produce sticky proteins which can adhere to the walls of her arteries.
As this bacteria builds up, it thickens the walls of the arteries. This narrowing of the passageway through the arteries is closely associated with heart disease.
Bacteria are also known to promote the formation of blood clots which can damage the heart. Studies have shown that oral bacteria, once launched into the bloodstream, seem able to survive attacks by the immune system.
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Acupuncture Reduces Tooth Socket Bone Loss Due To Periodontitis.
Researchers conducting a laboratory experiment on the effects of periodontitis discovered that electroacupuncture decreases periodontal tissue destruction and also reduces pro-inflammatory mediators and a key pro-resorptive factor. Histomorphometry and microtomography confirm that electroacupuncture effectively reduces bone loss in the alveoli, the jawbone sockets containing the roots of teeth. The research was published in the Journal of Periodontology Online, an official publication of the American Academy of Periodontology.
The researchers identified key biochemical reductions in pro-inflammatory mediators. Application of electroacupuncture decreased expression of IL-1β, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, which is a cell-signaling protein used in intercellular communication. Zhe Liu et al. also measured reductions in IL-1β caused by the application of acupuncture.
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Points and diagram below ….
LI4 is between the 1st and 2nd metacarpal bones or on the inside of the dew claw If no dew claw the spot where it would have been
LI11 in the outside or lateral crease of the elbow. f each knee
ST36 find the front of the knee and slide your finger down into the little groove on the lateral side of each knee
ST44Proximal to the web margin between the 2ndand 3rd
toes, in the depression distal and lateral to the 2 metatarsophalangeal joint.
