Professional teeth cleaning / Caries prevention

Professional care by the dentist
Since July 1, 1999, public health insurance companies offer the possibility to have dental check-ups for children from the age 3 to 6 years. The determination of the individual caries risk of a child is an essential point besides the informative talk about dental health care in general. Inexplicably, this failed to include contemporary and modern diagnostic tools for caries risk determination in the catalogue of benefits. Despite scientific acceptance! Thus, the caries risk of a child should be determined from the number of existing fillings or carious lesions. It certainly makes more sense to determine the caries risk of a child before there has been any clinical damage to the teeth, e.g. through the caries risk diagnostics.
The caries risk diagnostics and the individually customized preventive treatments for caries prevention are not included in the benefits of statutory health insurance.
Your private commitment is necessary here: The prevention will incur costs, however, with the great care the costs for future dental maintenance and dentures decrease strongly. It is an important decision for your future. Your dentist will be pleased to inform you in detail about the possibilities and advantages of a comprehensive preventive care program and the associated costs.

Plaque removal
The professional teeth cleaning leaves completely smooth tooth surfaces behind. Thus, the plaque cannot stick to the teeth. The dental team has the opportunity to use special polishing brushes and pastes to clean tooth surfaces that you cannot reach with your regular toothbrush. Plaque, e.g. caused by coffee, black tea, cigarettes, can be removed.

Protecting tooth varnish
In addition to the right nutrition and the right dental care, tooth fluoridation is an important protective method for the prevention of tooth decay. Our food and drinks already include fluorides but in a very low concentration. These amounts are not enough for the sufficient enrichment of the enamel, because the sweet foods and drinks that we eat today, stimulate the activity of the bacteria more than is considered by nature. Therefore, targeted fluoridation of the enamel surface by toothpastes, varnishes or gels enriched in fluorides is extremely important for the health of the teeth. It takes some time for the fluorides effect to increase the acid resistance to build up. The storage build up is only possible within the 2 minutes of daily brushing.

Fluorides - Resistance for the tooth
For a lasting enamel protection, the dentist will apply a colourless varnish to the enamel with a small brush. The fluoridated varnish releases tiny amounts of fluorides into the enamel layer over several days (deep fluoridation) *.
Chlorhexidine - targeted against bacteria
Chlorhexidine varnishes may e.g. be applied targeted at caries risk points, cervical margins or fissures - even on baby teeth cutting through, before the sealing protection against caries is possible. The colourless chlorhexidine varnish will stick to the tooth surface for several days after application and will bond to the enamel. The goal of chlorhexidine is to reduce caries-responsible bacteria over a period of time. The effect of chlorhexidine lasts about 3-4 months.
After applying protective varnishes (chlorhexidine or fluorides), you should not eat or drink anything for 1-3 hours. It is also (exceptionally) recommended not to brush your teeth or apply floss on the same day, so that the dental varnish has some time to work itself into the tooth surface.

Dental sealing - give caries no chance
When examining the teeth arches, the dentist spots the cases in which individual teeth must be protected by a seal. He will recommend it whenever he finds that the tooth is covered by deep dips and fissures. The normal salivation and the cleaning activity of the tongue are not enough to remove these food particles. These deep gaps are often even difficult to reach with the toothbrush.

Yours sincerely
Joint dental practice
Maria Tsiatsi and Dr. Uwe Leuschner