Document Type : Review Article(s)
Authors
1
Department of Operative Dentistry and Periodontology, Center for Dental Medicine, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
2
Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK), Laboratory for Sensors, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
Abstract
Background: The ageing of the population and the importance of aesthetics has put pressure on the delivery of dental care. Bacterial infection in intra-oral cavities can develop into a pathogenic biofilm, which then induces inflammatory processes. One of the necessary dental treatment steps is the disinfection of the infected area, whether it is in the root canal, or in the periodontal, periapical, or peri-implant regions. The objective of this review was to assess the actual situation and trends in the treatments for three of the most important areas of dental health: peri-implantitis, periodontitis, and endodontics.
Methods: Results from clinical studies, reports from dental associations, national health insurance records, and market reports were used to quantify the number of treatment needs. For peri-implantitis, the number of inserted implants and the prevalence of peri-implantitis build the basis for the computation. For periodontitis and root canal treatments (RCTs), health insurance figures, and reports on dental instrument orders are the data sources for the estimations.
Results: The data show that the number of performed periodontitis and RCTs increase linearly over the year, mainly driven by demographic changes, i.e., increase in size and age of populations. The computed values show that the treatment need for peri-implantitis follows an exponential growth and may surpass that of periodontitis by 2023 in Europe and in the USA.
Conclusion: Where dental implantology is growing, the rapid development of peri-implant diseases will burden the health systems. This should be addressed at different levels. At the practitioners’ level, this includes continuous training of staff and (re)investment in adequate material and infrastructures. At the governmental level, it includes policy development and reimbursement strategies as well as information dissemination in health insurance and dental associations. Last, but not least, R&D efforts in the public and private sectors should be implemented/boosted.
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