The importance of healthy teeth
The lower facial area with the mouth, teeth, lower and upper jaw plays an important role in a person's expression and appearance. They are also involved in speech and food intake. Malformations and injuries in this area can therefore have significant consequences for our social contacts and communication as well as our ability to eat a balanced diet.
Teeth, for example, are not only used to grind food, they also help with pronunciation and make a laugh perfect. The human dentition of an adult consists of a total of 32 permanent teeth, including the wisdom teeth. All teeth have a tooth root with which they are anchored in the jaw. A distinction is made between the front teeth with the incisors and canines and the molars with the premolars and grinders.
Tooth preservation and prosthetics
In order for teeth to fulfil their role for as long as possible, they must be cared for and treated quickly in the event of diseases such as caries and periodontitis. At the Centre for Dental, Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine at Ulm University Hospital, specialists from the Clinic for Tooth Preservation and Periodontology are available to treat patients as if they were in a dental practice.
But even if teeth have fallen out or been destroyed, a functioning set of teeth can be restored with dental prosthetics, i.e. implants, crowns and bridges. The Ulm Clinic for Dental Prosthetics is particularly specialised in this field.
Surgery and orthodontics
Surgical procedures, on the other hand, are the domain of the Clinic for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Among other things, its specialists operate on polytraumatised patients after serious accidents together with the ear, nose and throat department and the surgery department. The treatment of cleft lips, jaws and palates - a very common deformity in newborns - is also an important focus of the clinic. These operations are not just about the aesthetic restoration of the little patient's face. The surgeons must also ensure that the child can chew and swallow. It is equally important that the ability to speak is not impaired. To this end, the clinic has set up a cleft centre involving the departments of otorhinolaryngology, dentistry, paediatrics, phoniatrics and anaesthesia.
Orthodontics Misaligned teeth in both children and adults are treated by the experts at the Clinic for Orthodontics and Orthodontics using various brace systems or corrective surgery.
