Preventive solution

In aesthetic dentistry, preventive maintenance is one of the elements that can increase the success rate of cosmetic treatments and decrease risks of failure. Dental implants can restore life-like aesthetics and natural function but they demand meticulous pre, during and postsurgical homecare. The goal of any implant maintenance and periodontal management programme is to preserve the implants along with the remaining dentition whilst maintaining comfort, function and aesthetics. Excellent plaque control and tissue maintenance are of critical importance to the favourable long-term prognosis of implant effectiveness.

Impacting both tooth and gum problems, dental plaque contributes to the oral cavity’s overall dynamic environment that frequently undergoes rapid changes in pH, nutrient availability and oxygen tension. According to Jorgsen and Slot “under suitable conditions, periodontal pathogens colonise the subgingival environment, incorporating into a tenacious biofilm”. The late eminent American periodontist Professor Perry Ratcliff claimed that “extremely low concentrations of volatile sulphur compounds (VSC), the family of gases, which are primarily responsible for oral malodour, are also highly toxic to the tissues in the mouth. When VSC are absent, the toxins from bacteria do not cross the epithelial barrier. When the VSC are present, they alter the epithelial barrier, allowing the bacterial toxins to penetrate through the epithelium into the deeper tissues. These act as antigens to start the immune response, which starts the inflammatory reaction that causes tissue destruction to form periodontal pockets.” He also suggests that “traditional procedures of scaling, root planning and the practice of oral hygiene, combined with tongue scraping are effective at reducing levels of VSC and are satisfactory cosmetic treatments.”