Trench mouth historical perspective
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Farwa Haideri [2]
Overview
Historical Perspective
Trench mouth, also known as necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis has been observed for centuries. The common name was probably coined during World War I when many front-line soldiers suffered from the condition. It was thought to have occurred partly due to exposure to extreme psychologic stress. The same condition appeared in civilians (who had relatively good diets during wartime) during periods of bombing raids, so it was assumed that psychologic stress, too, was the significant causative factor.[1]
Since 1778, with the discovery of acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (ANUG), trench mouth has been differentiated from scurvy and chronic periodontitis. Jean Hyacinthe Vincent, a French physician working at the Paris Pasteur Institute, described a fusospirochetal infection of the pharynx and palatine tonsils, causing "ulcero-membranous pharyngitis and tonsillitis", which later became known as Vincent's angina. In 1904, Vincent describes the same pathogenic organisms in ulceronecrotic gingivitis.[2]
References
- ↑ American Academy of Periodontology (May 2000). "Parameter on acute periodontal diseases. American Academy of Periodontology" (PDF). J. Periodontol. 71 (5 Suppl): 863–6. doi:10.1902/jop.2000.71.5-S.863. PMID 10875694. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-28.
- ↑ Taylor FE, McKinstry WH (1917). "The Relation of Peri-dental Gingivitis to Vincent's Angina". Proc. R. Soc. Med. 10 (Laryngol Sect): 43–8. PMC 2017821. PMID 19979715.