While good oral hygiene, such as regular brushing and flossing, continues to play an important role in periodontitis prevention, genetic factors are viewed as increasingly important. Indeed, practitioners like Perry Westbrook, DMD, see gum disease running in their patients’ families.

1. Heredity and Gum
Disease
From the office of Dr. Perry
Westbrook

2. Heredity and Gum Disease
While good oral hygiene, such as regular
brushing and flossing, continues to play an
important role in periodontitis prevention,
genetic factors are viewed as increasingly
important. Indeed, practitioners like Perry
Westbrook, DMD, see gum disease running
in their patients’ families.

3. Heredity and Gum Disease
In recent years, researchers have delved into
genetic factors. In one study, scientists concluded
that genetic factors caused periodontal disease in
50 percent of patients studied. Scientists also
discovered that if a parent has periodontitis, the
children are 12 times more likely to have the
bacteria considered the source of the disease. In an
earlier study, conducted in 2000, researchers found
that nearly one-third of the population has a
hereditary propensity to contract periodontitis. They
also discovered an immune system component that
leads to more serious periodontitis in certain
patients.

4. About Dr. Perry Westbrook
Perry Westbrook, DMD, stands as one of first
American periodontists recognized as a
specialist in his field by the esteemed Kois
Center in Seattle.