Periodontitis Lifelong tooth preservation quite possible

Experts warn against the creeping danger of periodontitis
Many factors can affect the health of our teeth, with tooth decay and periodontitis probably the most well-known. However, research has often proved "that lifelong tooth preservation is possible", stresses Prof. Dr. med. Holger Jentsch, Head of Periodontics at the Department of Restorative Dentistry and Periodontics at the University Hospital Leipzig, in a recent press release on the occasion of the European Periodontology Day on 12 May.

The permanent teeth, which beautify every laugh and get every bite small, the human gets - after the milk teeth - only once, why should be taken to ensure that they last longer, reminds the University Hospital Leipzig. Periodontitis, which describes an inflammation of the periodontium, here forms a creeping danger. This chronic, not self-inflicted disease is now a widespread disease dar. With appropriate therapeutic measures, however, a loss of teeth can often be avoided.

With a consistent, regularly adjustable therapy, tooth loss in periodontal disease can usually be avoided. (Image: Dan Race / fotolia.com)

Outbreak of the disease can be delayed
"Periodontitis is caused by bacteria and the inflammatory reaction of the body," explains Professor Jentsch in the press release of the University Hospital Leipzig. Jentsch is also a board member of the German Society for Periodontology. In periodontitis, the jawbone is destroyed by the chronic inflammation gradually and a loss of teeth is then foreseeable without therapy, the expert said. The outbreak of the disease is favored by genetic engineering, but let the disease outbreak "delayed by regular and consistent removal of the plaque," according to the University Hospital. Thorough brushing with additional use of interdental space brushes could also help sufferers and the removal of the plaque is an essential accompanying measure for periodontal therapy.

Consistent therapy can avoid tooth loss
Through a lifelong accompanying and always to be adapted complex therapy tooth loss in periodontitis is preventable, emphasizes Professor Jentsch. "To put it simply: The forceps is not the therapy," said the specialist in the current press release. After all, it remains to be seen for the last 20 years that people keep their own teeth even when they are older. The German Oral Health Study has shown that in 2007, Germans had about one or two teeth more teeth in their mouths than they did in 1997. Senior citizens even had an average of 3.4 more own teeth, according to the University Hospital Leipzig. In the opinion of Professor Jentsch, in addition to an improved general oral health, the results of the research and the possibilities of therapy have contributed to this positive development in the field of periodontology together with the other fields of dentistry. (Fp)