Anterior tooth esthetics and smile design with veneers and bleaching

Finally beautiful teeth within a very short time and often without drilling thanks to veneers. Thanks to state-of-the-art materials, Dr. Heidrun Hofmann is able to beautify any smile very quickly with veneers. Color, shape and position corrections can be carried out easily.

The best thing about this is that the teeth often do not have to be ground down (non-prep veneers), but are strengthened and stabilized by the veneers. Dr. Heidrun Hofmann usually glues the wafer-thin material carefully onto the tooth without local anaesthetic. Veneers are therefore also ideal for anxious patients. You benefit from Dr. Heidrun Hofmann's many years of experience in the various veneer techniques, which she was able to gather from the President of the Society of Cosmetic Dentistry Germany and USA, among others.

For pure color corrections, gentle in-office bleaching (tooth whitening) in the dental lounge of Dr. Heidrun Hofmann's dental practice is an option.

This is an excellent way of removing unsightly yellowish discoloration in particular. Thanks to significantly improved bleaching materials, whitening is much more pleasant than it was a few years ago. Your teeth will shine in a radiant white in just 90 minutes.

All-rounder hyaluron

Hyaluronic acid as a component of periodontitis therapy

Markt Indersdorf, November 2018 - When doctors talk about hyaluronic acid, many first think of injections for fuller lips or against wrinkles. The active ingredient has also gained notoriety as a treatment for osteoarthritis symptoms. But what many people don't know: It is also used in dentistry, especially in the treatment of periodontitis. Periodontitis is an inflammation of the tooth bed that develops from an untreated inflammation of the gums, known as gingivitis. The problem here: In most cases, this disease progresses gradually, meaning that the symptoms often only appear at an advanced stage. "Those affected usually suffer from redness and swelling of the gums and bleeding gums. In addition, untreated periodontal disease can cause gum recession and lead to tooth loss. Research has also shown links to numerous general diseases such as heart attacks and strokes," explains Dr. med. dent. Heidrun Hofmann, dentist and owner of the dental practice Dr. Heidrun Hofmann.

Bacteria as a trigger

Periodontitis is often caused by a lack of oral hygiene. Brushing your teeth alone is not enough as a daily care routine, as the spaces between the teeth cannot be reached and cleaned with a toothbrush. Over time, plaque builds up there. Bacteria collect in this plaque. Through metabolism, they form toxic substances that attack the tissue in the mouth. "The human body then reacts with gum inflammation and the gums swell. The inflammation causes the gums to begin to loosen. This creates a tiny gap between the tooth and gum, also known as a gingival pocket," explains Dr. Hofmann. Dentists use a probe to determine the depth of the periodontal pockets and then determine the periodontal screening index, or PSI for short. This shows the severity of periodontal disease.

Focus on plaque removal

The aim of periodontitis therapy is to stop the inflammation and thus preserve the tissue of the periodontium. After a detailed diagnosis, the first step is therefore to completely remove the plaque in which the bacteria accumulate. Only if this is successful can the inflammation subside. In addition to conventional mechanical procedures with manual, sonic and ultrasonic devices, a laser is also used in some cases. The laser radiation irreversibly damages bacteria and thus helps to remove them completely.

Cell regeneration thanks to hyaluron

If the periodontitis is already at an advanced stage, there is a risk of tooth loosening or, in the worst case, even tooth loss due to the receding jawbone. To counteract this, Dr. Hofmann uses hyaluronic acid as a component of periodontitis therapy. "I put the hyaluronic acid into the gum pockets, where it hardens and stabilizes the tooth. It also has an antibacterial and cell-regenerating effect," explains the dentist. By regenerating the cells, the bone can grow back by up to 1.8 millimetres in some cases. "This means we can spare patients further treatment or tooth extraction if necessary. The regeneration process usually takes a few months," explains Dr. Hofmann.

Do not neglect aftercare

As periodontitis is chronic, careful follow-up care must be carried out by the dentist every three months after treatment. "To prevent the build-up of plaque, teeth should be professionally cleaned regularly. Those affected can also take precautions themselves by using dental floss and interdental brushes to thoroughly clean the spaces between their teeth and brushing their teeth with an electronic (sonic) toothbrush," concludes Dr. Hofmann.

The jaw as an extension of the spine

Why the back also hurts with CMD

Markt Indersdorf, November 2018: Almost every German suffers from back pain at least once in their life. This often leads to a visit to the family doctor or orthopaedic surgeon. The problem here: In some cases, spinal disorders are not the cause of the complaints. Rather, craniomandibular dysfunction, better known as CMD, can also trigger the pain. As a result, therapeutic measures to relieve back pain may eliminate the symptoms but not the cause. "Specialists speak of descending CMD when patients suffer from a functional disorder of the masticatory system caused by a misalignment of the skull and lower jaw," explains Dr. med. dent. Heidrun Hofmann, dentist and owner of the dental practice Dr. Heidrun Hofmann.

Wide-ranging clinical picture

Patients with CMD suffer from symptoms such as back and neck tension or even shoulder pain and numbness in the arms or fingers. The reason for this: The tension in the jaw muscles travels through the neck and shoulder area to the lower back and causes discomfort there. Specialists therefore speak of descending symptoms in this case. "However, symptoms such as headaches and facial pain, dizziness or tinnitus can also indicate a CMD disorder, which is why many sufferers do not receive the correct diagnosis straight away. In Germany, around 20 percent of these complaints can be attributed to CMD," reports Dr. Heidrun Hofmann.

Tracking down the causes

One of the main causes of descending CMD is malocclusion due to genetic predisposition or tooth gaps and defective dentures. "In these cases, the human body tries to compensate for the malocclusion or adapt to it. The attempts to adapt then cause tension in the chewing, head and facial muscles involved. If this tension becomes chronic, craniomandibular dysfunction develops," says Dr. Heidrun Hofmann. Another reason for the development of descending CMD is psychological stress. Many people react to stress by grinding their teeth, known as bruxism. Teeth grinding in turn causes severe tension, which can develop into CMD. If CMD is first suspected, an instrumental functional analysis should be carried out after a detailed medical history has been taken. MRI images of the temporomandibular joints should then be taken under certain circumstances.

With dental splints against jaw problems

As soon as the diagnosis of descending CMD has been established, individual therapy is provided to combat not only the symptoms but also the cause. "Wearing a dental splint in the upper jaw at night can alleviate complaints such as grinding, clicking of the jaw joint and pain in the jaw joint. The adjusted plastic occlusal splints position the lower jaw in its physiological position after around seven to ten weeks, thereby correcting the incorrect position of the lower jaw," explains Dr. Heidrun Hofmann. In addition, special treatment can be carried out in close cooperation between the treating dentist and physiotherapist. Physiotherapeutic measures tailored precisely to CMD, such as relaxation and stretching exercises, help to relieve tension and thus reduce pain. Further information can be found at www.zahnarzt-marktindersdorf.de

It's all about breathing

Hypnosis breathing against dental anxiety

Markt Indersdorf, November 2018 Although the use of modern minimally invasive methods and local anaesthetics generally reduces pain during dental treatment to a minimum, many people do not like going to the dentist. Nevertheless, they visit them regularly, for example for their annual check-up or a professional dental cleaning. However, there are people who suffer from such severe anxiety that they avoid visiting the dentist. Around 20 percent of people suffer from dental anxiety, also known as dentophobia or oral phobia. Their fear manifests itself in physical symptoms such as a racing heart, sweating, trembling, muscle tension and increased blood pressure. "In addition to these somatic symptoms, however, psychological symptoms can also occur. These include thoughts of anxiety, in which those affected imagine treatment errors or severe pain. These fears can even cause insomnia. To help these patients, I work with a specific breathing technique," explains Dr. med. dent. Heidrun Hofmann, dentist and owner of the dental practice Dr. Heidrun Hofmann.

Vicious circle of dentophobia

There are various causes of dental anxiety, but almost ninety percent of those affected state that they suffer from dentophobia due to traumatic experiences during a previous treatment. For many patients with this phobia, the distress and fear are so severe that they do not visit the dentist for years. Due to the lack of prophylactic measures and the absence of any necessary treatment, dental health deteriorates and diseases such as periodontitis, caries and gingivitis occur. Toothache increases. As a result of the suffering, the fear of visiting the dentist increases even more.

Special breathing technique calms patients

The parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems are part of the human body's autonomic nervous system, which serves to regulate and control all important processes in the body. While the parasympathetic nervous system ensures that both the heart rate and blood pressure fall so that the body can recover, the sympathetic nervous system activates the organism in stressful situations in order to increase its performance. Hypnotic breathing is a special breathing technique that can be used to activate the parasympathetic nervous system. The advantages of this method are that it only takes a few minutes for the patient to relax and the procedure generally has no side effects. The aim of hypnosis breathing is to relieve patients' anxiety, help them to relax and thus enable a calm and stress-free dental treatment. In the long term, this can even lead to a reduction in anxiety and worry before treatment.

Treatment procedure

As a longer stay in the waiting room usually increases anxiety about the treatment, patients should only have to wait a short time if possible. Before hypnotic breathing is used, a detailed doctor-patient consultation takes place to take a medical history. Before the treatment begins, the patient must lie relaxed. Then the phase begins in which patients are guided into a state of relaxation using a special breathing technique in which dentists speak softly to the patient and calmly tell them the rhythm in which they should breathe. "Patients have to breathe in deeply through their stomach, hold their breath briefly and then breathe out again. Pulse and blood pressure drop and breathing slows down," says Dr. Hofmann. As soon as the patients have reached a state of relaxation, the actual treatment phase begins, during which the patients do not experience any stress or anxiety, so the doctor usually carries out the treatment without any restrictions. "One advantage is that anxious patients have a positive memory of the treatment, which can reduce their anxiety over time," concludes Dr. Hofmann.