Periodontitis: To recognize and avoid >

Your gums bleed while brushing your teeth? These are signs of gingivitis. If the disease remains untreated, it will eventually lead to gum and bone loss and thus tooth loss. Learn how to prevent and effectively treat periodontal disease.

The symptoms of periodontitis

Red, swollen gums are a warning sign. Pain on the gums occurs and bleeding is triggered by tooth brushing or other contact.

These aspects indicate periodontitis. Healthy gums are firm and pink, holding your teeth in the dental bed and showing no known symptoms. The situation is different if you are suffering from periodontitis and have to reckon with deep gum pockets, gum recession and loosening teeth. Gingivitis is a precursor and refers to inflammation of the gums.

The actual periodontitis thus describes not only a gingivitis, but the infection of the periodontium. Although periodontitis is a serious and often associated with bad breath inflammation in the mouth, it still serves the body’s defense against bacteria. It is an answer of your immune system.

If you do not take the initial gingivitis seriously, it can lead to long-term damage to your teeth.

Course of treatment in case of periodontitis

Before treatment: diagnosis and prognosis

Before the treatment your tartar is removed and a cleaning of the superficial gum pockets is made. You will also receive an instruction on how to do oral hygiene. As advanced periodontitis is usually a multifactorial disease of the oral cavity, further treatment steps are incorporated into the actual therapy.

The diagnostics will be carried out in the following areas:

• The measurement of the periodontal pockets and their bleeding during probing
• The identification of an initial value to assess possible progress

Furthermore, an X-ray report is made and should not be more than six months old until the time of application.

The prognosis includes all risks and, for example, previous illnesses. Diabetes and osteoporosis, alcohol and nicotine consumption, as well as insufficient participation of the patient worsen the prognosis and have a negative effect on the decision of the health insurance companies.

The real treatment: Three treatment methods

The teeth cleaning and smoothing of the surfaces lays the foundation for the fight against the periodontitis, since your gums can invest only on smooth surfaces and tend with tartar as well as exposed tooth necks to the pocket formation. The actual treatment is realized with three different methods.

First method: the closed treatment

The closed treatment is a procedure that requires no surgical intervention and without the opening of the gum to success. With a hand instrument (curette) or ultrasound machine, the root and tooth surfaces are cleaned mechanically. In mild to moderate periodontitis, your dentist will achieve a good result with the closed therapy and can free you from the bacteria. In this case, the periodontal pockets must have a depth of at least 3.5 mm in order to be reasonably treatable. Since the surface of the tooth roots is also included in this therapy, you will be stunned and can usually be treated painlessly.

Second Method: The Open Treatment

Open treatment is also referred to as open curettage. This is the most complex form of therapy that can be performed by the dentist in acute cases. For this, the gum is opened and folded outwards, so that the tooth roots and periodontal pockets can be cleaned directly under inspection. The open curettage usually takes place only when the closed method has no effect. Afterwards, the treated area is re-sewn and given the opportunity to re-apply to the clean tooth surfaces over time. Since the removal of hard deposits on the root surfaces in advanced periodontitis is not completely painless, you are usually anesthetized, so that the treatment can be painless.

Third method: treatment with antibiotics

The third method refers to the administration of antibiotics. This is recommended only in rare cases and is only used for certain shapes and forms. Particularly in the case of aggressive or very stubborn forms, it is possible to apply antibiotic therapies locally (in the periodontal pocket) or systemically (tablet form). Treatment with antibiotic drugs alone is usually not recommended, as there is no long-term cure without treatment of the causes.

After treatment: controls and bone structure

Your condition requires a constant prevention with regular prophylaxis and checks at the dentist. Even without new symptoms such as bleeding gums or loosening of the gums, you should take the prevention seriously and Go to your dentist at least twice a year.

Once you have suffered from the disease, the risk of a return of the disease is permanent. You can avoid blood spots on the apple or brushing your teeth, redness of the gums or any other signs you already know by regularly removing tartar and freeing your teeth from hard and soft coverings. Pay particular attention to the cleaning of your interdental spaces, since the most common cause of periodontal disease is the presence of inter-teeth.

In long-lasting, the jaw bone continues to degrade as a result of inflammation. Whether it makes sense to build up a bone and restore your oral health depends on your age, oral hygiene, any other illnesses and the causes of periodontitis.

Risk factors: smoking, alcohol consumption and diabetes

Periodontitis is not always based solely on lack of oral hygiene.

The following factors also cause the gum recession and periodontal pockets:

• Smoke
• diabetes
• increased alcohol consumption
• tartar
• weak or diseased immune system
• unbalanced diet
• genetics

Prevention: How to avoid periodontitis

For effective prevention, you should take the annual checkup with the dentist for prophylaxis seriously. A clean oral cavity is far less likely to develop periodontal disease, even if your lifestyle and circumstances are less than optimal.

Know causes

You prevent periodontitis by knowing the risk factors and causes. If you smoke heavily, this aspect affects the circulation of the body and thus your gums. For example, it may happen that you recognize the symptoms of periodontitis (periodontitis) too late and, for example, complain of bleeding gums only when the disease is already advanced. Preventing and avoiding the many causes is the honesty that you put to yourself and your dentist.

Avoidance of risk factors

You can use daily dental care to check your dental health and, looking in the mirror, see if your gums are loosening or bleeding. In that case, it has clear symptoms of periodontitis.

Cost of treatment: This pays the cash

The diagnosis of the so-called periodontal disease poses a challenge not only to your health but also financially. Due to the lengthy period of periodontal disease, treatment is not completed with a visit to the dentist. Although periodontal disease brings lifelong attention to your dental care and dental health, you can bill the treatment of periodontitis in a positive prognosis on your health insurance and do not have to pay the complex therapies out of pocket.

Prerequisites for the reimbursement of costs

For the reimbursement of your health insurance, it is important that you participate in the fight and behave accordingly during and after the treatment. This also means that you now have optimal prevention and prophylaxis with regularity to make at your dentist. A remedy of the typical causes is also advisable if the periodontal disease has occurred as a result of your lifestyle. If the prerequisites for periodontal therapy according to the guidelines of the statutory health insurances are met, this also covers the costs for the treatment.

However, the costs are only covered for classic therapies such as closed and possibly open curettage. New types of procedures such as controlled bone augmentation are usually required.

No reimbursement if there is no participation

In order to receive the costs of your treatment of periodontitis from the health insurance, the treatment may begin only after their approval. Your dentist will need to wait and do nothing but perform preparatory work to control symptoms and prevent progression. Professional teeth cleaning and removal of tartar relieves the symptoms of periodontal disease. These can be done before the assurance of your health insurance. Be prepared for a time-consuming treatment.

Always make sure that you keep an eye on the causes and live healthier lives. If you fail to comply with the obligation, the health insurance company can refuse further treatment of periodontitis and henceforth bear no costs.

Your dentist can inform the health insurance company of missing participation on their part. This includes whether you yourself actively fight against periodontitis and turn off the triggers.

Conclusion: Prevention and aftercare is important

Your dentist suggests regular appointments for the prevention of recurrent periodontitis (recall appointments) and helps you to curb the disease permanently. He will recommend you certain dental care products and educate you about the importance of prophylaxis in the fight against periodontitis. Because avoiding periodontitis requires different measures and intervals between the visits and professional teeth cleaning for each patient, follow the advice of your dentist and follow their guidelines. Prophylaxis allows you to bite vigorously despite illness and help your gums recover. With the placement of risk factors, you can smile again soon.

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