Abstract
Oxygen is one of the most versatile and powerful agents available to the modern medical practitioner. The therapeutic use of oxygen under pressure is known as Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy(HBO) and has been used to assist wound healing for almost 40 years. HBO has several specific biological actions like hyper-oxygenation of tissue, vasoconstriction, down regulation of inflammatory cytokines, up-regulation of growth factors, antibacterial effects, potentiation of antibiotics and leukocyte effects. Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease caused by bacterial biofilms that accumulate on the teeth. The inflammation is characterized first by an acute response that, in some cases, becomes chronic leading to destruction of bone and connective tissue attachment that is associated with a complex acquired immune response to periodontal pathogens. Several studies have described the beneficial role of HBO in the treatment of various human pathologies either alone or in combination with other therapies. Very scarce data is available to analyze the effects of HBO therapy on periodontal disease. This article looks understanding the biological and physiological effects of using O2 underpressure and its benefit against periodontal diseases.
