Acute Necrotizing Ulcerative Gingivitis appears with stress. College students can get it during finals and people breaking up can get it. The onset of some medical conditions such as HIV infection can cause it. Regardless of the cause, it should be treated and the cause found. People who smoke, have poor nutrition and who have dental infections are susceptible.
Necrotizing ulcerating periodontitis (NUP) is a marker of severe immunosuppression that affects gingival tissues (gums) and extends to the underlying bone or periodontium. It may or may not be distinct from necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (NUG), which is considered to be confined to the gingiva. This discussion will focus primarily on NUP, but the microbial profiles and treatment recommendations for these two periodontal diseases are similar.
The cause of trench mouth (Acute Necrotizing Ulcerative Gingivitis or ANUG) is the abnormal overgrowth of harmful bacteria in the mouth, resulting in severe infection of the gums.
Micro-organisms that cause the trench mouth are mainly anaerobes, including Bacteroides and Fusobacterium and spirochetes. Some researches mention as cause of ANUG the combination of the Bacillus Fusiformis and the spirochete (Borrelia vincentii).
A variety of micro-organisms, including fungi, viruses and bacteria, normally exist harmlessly in every human mouth. Their population is auto-regulated as they compete with each other. External factors that disturb the balance between the various micro-organisms of the mouth, may allow to some of the harmful bacteria to grow out of control. This overgrowth causes a painful infection of the gums, which can seriously damage or destroy the periodontal tissues that support the teeth (periodontal ligament and gums).
