Periodontium bestows vision

• Published in: Journal of Indian Society of Periodontology Vol. 20; no. 3; pp. 349 - 351
• Main Authors: Gulati, Minkle, Salaria, Sanjeev, Anand, Vishal, Jain, Nikil, Pandey, Suraj
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: India Wolters Kluwer - Medknow Publications 01.05.2016; Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd; Medknow Publications & Media Pvt. Ltd; Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd; Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
• Subjects: Blindness; Causes of; Dental implants; Eye surgery; Health aspects; Ophthalmology; osteo-odonto keratoprosthesis; periodontal; Periodontics; Short Communication; tooth; India; osteo-odonto keratoprosthesis; ophthalmology; periodontal; Eye surgery; tooth
• ISSN: 0972-124X; 0975-1580
• DOI: 10.4103/0972-124X.170853

The role of periodontium in supporting the tooth structures is well-known. However, less is known about its contribution to the field of ophthalmology. Corneal diseases are among major causes of blindness affecting millions of people worldwide, for which synthetic keratoprosthesis was considered the last resort to restore vision. Yet, these synthetic keratoprosthesis suffered from serious limitations, especially the foreign body reactions invoked by them resulting in extrusion of the whole prosthesis from the eye. To overcome these shortcomings, an autologous osteo-odonto keratoprosthesis utilizing intraoral entities was introduced that could positively restore vision even in cases of severely damaged eyes. The successful functioning of this prosthesis, however, predominantly depended on the presence of a healthy periodontium for grafting. Therefore, the following short communication aims to acknowledge this lesser-known role of the periodontium and other oral structures in bestowing vision to the blind patients.