Own teeth even at the age of 60

“Today, in dental treatment or complete rehabilitation, it is possible to fulfill the demands of the profession and the aesthetic wishes of patients due to the enviable achievements of the entire dental industry. However, it is wrong to believe that a completely and expensively restored tooth is a sign of dental health,” says Dr. Marcela Perić, owner of the Polyclinic for Dental Prosthetics and Orthodontics, noting the importance of prevention in preserving healthy teeth even in old age.

Aesthetic function

Today, problems with dental health are relatively easy to treat and rehabilitate, but too little is said about prevention, with the help of which people over the age of 60 could still have their teeth, and also healthy teeth. “Although there are techniques, materials and technologies of work, a repaired tooth is not a guarantee of further dental health. The achievements of the dental industry show that there are necessary and high-quality materials for tooth fillings as well as technologies for producing these materials. Also, there are methods of laboratory production of all types of prosthetic replacements, almost invisible orthodontic appliances and implant installation techniques, sophisticated and almost perfect in their aesthetic function. The public is well informed about this through the popular press and from their dentist. However, as one of my professors said, “You cannot build a skyscraper in a swamp”, and every start of rehabilitation has the goal of establishing oral health. Only a clean and healthy mouth with healthy gums guarantee the long-term durability of the work performed,” notes Marcela Perić.

That is precisely why, less than a year ago, she founded the Oral Health Center in her Polyclinic for Dental Prosthetics and Orthodontics, whose motto is “There is no alternative to prevention”.

Bacterial genesis

“Namely, I noticed that each patient has different basic knowledge and has different motivations, but most patients still think that they will lose their healthy teeth one day. This was my inspiration for writing a publication about preserving oral health, because rarely does a patient know anything about the processes that take place in their oral cavity. They may visit a dentist, but new diseases always appear in their oral cavity that they cannot explain,” says Marcela Perić.

So now every patient who visits the Polyclinic undergoes complete preparation that ends with the establishment of oral health and only in a healthy mouth does purposeful treatment begin.

Guided by experiences from the West that show that caries and gingivitis are bacterially caused diseases, in her Center, Dr. Perić defines transmission routes based on bacterial genesis and easily develops “infection schemes”. In this way, the patient can receive detailed advice on the medications they must take, diet and lifestyle that would suit them so that caries does not occur again.

Permanent oral health

“Because preventive dental health programs for adults are based on the personal condition of the teeth and general health, optimal treatment success is guaranteed, regardless of age or oral health status. Our teeth are programmed for a lifetime anyway, and caries and periodontitis can be avoided. To this end, we are able to determine the amount of bacteria responsible for the development of caries and periodontitis through special examinations, determine the defense capacity of saliva, assess the risk of implant placement. We also provide the patient with information about the connection between oral hygiene, nutrition and caries as well as periodontitis, and about the possibilities of how they can contribute to the permanent improvement of their oral health. Those who understand caries as a disease, not a “hole” in the tooth, can turn to the causes of the disease and will take the first step towards prevention,” emphasizes Dr. Perić.