Concepts of Prevention
The widespread association of youth with „power“ and age with „weakness“ prevents us very often from realizing the meaning and benefits of preventive concepts for older age groups.
Structure - maintaining prevention is independent of age and is only guided by its effectiveness and sense.
1. Periodontal disease:
- Periodontal disease and periapical foci (infections around dental root tips) as well as dental treatments may be causes for medical infections and symptoms. Fever of unknown origin, post streptococcus glomerulonephritis (renal disorder), reactive arthritis, erythema nodosum and sin bronchial syndrome may have dental causes.
- Bacterial endocarditis often occurs in patients with insufficient oral hygiene and dysfunctional heart valves (congenital or acquired).
- Diabetes mellitus, hormonal disturbances, and systemic steroid therapy are equally associated with periodontal disease.
- Pathologic changes of the oral mucosa are frequent in liver cirrhosis, chronic intestinal disorders (Crohn´s disease) or in chronic renal insufficiency.
2. Chewing ability and nutrition
- Long-term studies have shown that there is no simple and uniform treatment concept for senior citizens. In many cases it is beneficial to establish dental implantology as one important pillar of the treatment options. Dental implants do not only re-establish a comfortable and safe chewing function, they may also contribute to your self-esteem and life quality. Due to the more effective mastication and food processing with implants, prevention of secondary illnesses of the gastro-intestinal system may be enhanced. The wish for fixed teeth (again) is highly estimated in senior citizens since the risk of having a removable prosthesis is the highest in this age group.
- The continuing loss of immunological defence (immunosenecence) in older age makes regular quality check-ups in dentistry even more important as in younger individuals since many medical illnesses are based on disorders of the oral cavity, which act as an entrance between the “inner and outer world”.
- Many people today suffer from orthopaedic pains and neurological symptoms due to a “false bite” or an improper positioning of the skull with regards to the lower jaw. These pains include headaches, back pains and other problems with the spinal cord. In the facultative terminology we refer to this problem as “CMD” or craniomandibular dysfunction (former TMJ syndrome). The incidence of this disorder increases with age. The interdisciplinary functional diagnostics and therapy help in determining the dental diagnosis and enable us the optimal preparation for your treatment and easy control of the success of the treatment. Various computer analyses and measuring techniques (i.e. optoelectronic measurements) are used to exactly determine your anatomical characteristics to specify your individual mouth and jaw situation. An overloading of your jaw joints and your spinal cord could be diagnosed at the beginning of your treatment, if present, or we would be able to prevent such problems from arising through your dental treatment. Our clinic considers the interdisciplinary functional diagnostics and therapy to be important aspects of our treatment plan. It is very important to us, that you leave our office with the “right bite,” because your bite influences your posture, your life quality and your entire body. With the right bite, you function best!
Classic symptoms of CMD (combinations are frequent)
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Ear sounds (Tinnitus)
- Sensitivity disturbances in fingers or legs (paresthesia)
- Hip problems, slipped disks, ischialgia
- Muscle ache during chewing
- Clicking of jaw joints and/or pain
- Visual disturbances (blurring vision, eye flickering, or an unusually limited view of sight
- One-sided hip and shoulder imbalance (facial and body asymmetry)
- Coordination problems during simple movements, such as climbing stairs
- Speech problems (dysphonic)
- Sleeplessness and inner restlessness
- Hormonal disturbances
- Depressed mood