Prevention: keeping the gums healthy
Anyone who looks after teeth and gums in good time can help prevent caries, gingivitis and periodontitis.
Keeping your own teeth for a lifetime is not wishful thinking. Anyone who takes care in good time – and that means from the first tooth onwards – can avoid gingivitis and periodontitis in most cases.
From repairing to preventing
Dentistry has shifted its focus away from restoring what has been destroyed and towards preventing the damage. That makes medical sense, and it is also the more comfortable route – a preventive appointment takes an hour, periodontal therapy accompanies you for months.
What prevention achieves
It measurably lowers the risk of disease and reveals changes while they are still reversible. Professional cleaning is a fixed component of this, not an optional extra.
After treatment it continues
Once periodontitis has been treated, aftercare decides whether it returns. Good oral hygiene at home and regular professional cleaning preserve the result – without them the same bacteria recolonise the pockets.
The key points at a glance
- A toothbrush reaches three of five tooth surfaces. The spaces between need interdental brushes or floss – daily.
- Professional cleaning reaches what home care cannot: between the teeth and the area below the gum margin.
- Smoking is the most significant modifiable risk factor – and at the same time it masks the warning sign of bleeding gums.
- Keep the check-up appointments, even when nothing hurts. Periodontitis does not announce itself.
Answered briefly
Frequently asked questions
With healthy gums, once or twice a year. After periodontal treatment more often – how often depends on the risk and is determined at the practice.
For the smooth surfaces, yes. No toothbrush reaches the spaces between the teeth and anything below the gum margin – and that is exactly where periodontitis begins.
Brush twice a day, clean between the teeth once a day, do not smoke, and have conditions such as diabetes well controlled. And keep the check-up appointments, even when nothing hurts.