Periodontal disease is a major cause of tooth loss in humans and is one of the most prevalent diseases associated with bone loss. Following bacterial colonization, the gingiva becomes inflamed leading, in some cases, to the destruction of the alveolar bone. Periodontitis has two distinct but interconnected etiologic components, periodontopathic bacteria and host-mediated connective tissue-destructive responses to the causative bacteria and their metabolic products.