Professional Prophylaxis
Dental prophylaxis — preventive care for healthy teeth.
Prophylaxis in general serves to prevent infectious diseases, with the aim of avoiding the development or spread of disease. Dental prophylaxis, also known as professional teeth cleaning (PTC), however, serves not only to prevent the development and spread of oral diseases. For many patients, healthy, clean teeth and firm, healthy gums are the main priority. The motivation lies in the fact that a radiant smile, fresh breath and a vital appearance stand for health, attractiveness, self-confidence and success. Dental prophylaxis is not only an urgent medical necessity; in today’s society it has therefore also developed into a regularly used hygiene measure.
Removing deposits — what home care cannot achieve
Professional teeth cleaning is intended to support daily oral hygiene, as the latter can never remove all deposits perfectly, no matter how well you brush your teeth or how diligently you floss every day. Depending on lifestyle habits, more or less unsightly and porous deposits form. Coffee, tea and tobacco consumption in particular cause these deposits, which are very difficult to remove. Far worse, however, is that, in combination with mineralised deposits (so-called tartar), they can cause bad breath, tooth decay, gum inflammation and even periodontitis.
For these reasons, you should let a professional take care of your teeth at least twice a year. Experience shows, however, that discerning and hygiene-conscious patients even request such treatment more than twice a year. Especially in today’s business world, a well-groomed appearance is of the utmost importance, which is why the interval between prophylaxis treatments is shortened individually according to lifestyle habits. At our practice, these treatments are performed so gently that even a close-meshed schedule does not harm the teeth and the periodontium – on the contrary.
Tailored to your personal needs
As the name suggests, individual prophylaxis is tailored to the patient’s individual needs. For this reason, it requires a trained and specially qualified professional. A dental hygienist more than meets these requirements: she has the relevant additional training, which, in contrast to a prophylaxis assistant, gives her a broader range of treatment and competence. This allows our patients’ oral hygiene to be optimally monitored and optimised. Recording findings, diagnosis, therapy and aftercare are among the dental hygienist’s tasks. Your first visit to our dental hygienists therefore takes approx. 1 1/2 hours. Any further appointments, if necessary, are usually shorter and adjusted accordingly.
Individual choice of instruments and what insurers cover
Which instruments are used for each patient is also decided individually depending on the situation. What matters is that every patient leaves the treatment with a comparably good result. In addition to ultrasonic instruments, piezo instruments, hand scalers or curettes, an Air-Flow device may be used, which can gently remove even the most stubborn discolouration. After a final thorough polish of all teeth, the tooth enamel is hardened by fluoridation. Motivating and instructing the patient on how to carry out their individual daily oral hygiene correctly is an important part of professionally performed individual prophylaxis.
Statutory health insurers do not yet cover the costs of such treatment. However, since numerous studies show that sources of inflammation in the mouth have a direct impact on the risk of heart attack and stroke, and even on the increased incidence of rheumatic diseases, a change will come about here in the near future. Until then, however, individual prophylaxis must still be paid for privately. Between €150 and €200 is charged for this, depending on the number of teeth and the time required.
Check-up and cleaning — sensibly combined
Prophylaxis treatment is very often combined with the dental check-up, which also makes sense; if you would like this, please mention it when making your appointment. You also have the option of taking part in a prophylaxis or SPT recall. If you wish, you will be notified by text message, email or post when it is time to arrange your next appointment.
Regular visits to the dentist including a PTC, combined with good oral hygiene at home, then provide the greatest possible assurance of keeping teeth and gums healthy and functional in the long term.
Our spaces are best experienced in person.
Arrange a no-obligation introductory visit — we’ll show you the practice, discuss your wishes and answer your questions.