Erosions belong to the non-caries-related dental hard substance defects and are triggered by the direct influence of acids from food or the stomach on the clean dental hard substance. The prevalence of this disease has increased in recent years and is now around 35 percent. Our erosion research focuses on identifying etiologic factors and investigating the pathomechanism and modulating influences. In this context, tooth- and saliva-related factors are of particular interest. The pathomechanism of erosions and thus also their clinical appearance, prevention and treatment differ fundamentally from caries, which is also caused by acids but is of bacterial origin. We are therefore developing new approaches to prevention and new strategies for the non-invasive and restorative treatment of these dental hard tissue defects.

Patients with a tumor disease are usually treated very invasively with surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy or stem cell transplantation. Many of these therapies have severe side effects in the oral cavity. The mucous membranes and salivary flow are particularly affected - the long-term consequences of these side effects are often infections of the oral cavity, tooth decay and a very severe reduction in quality of life. To date, not all side effects and sequelae are known. Our research is therefore dedicated to investigating the interactions between oral health and tumor therapy, uncovering etiological factors of side effects and developing new, well-tolerated and more effective prevention and treatment strategies to alleviate oral side effects and improve the quality of life of those affected. Hard tissue research, saliva analysis as well as microbiological and toxicological issues are at the forefront here. We transfer the findings of this work to other clinical pictures that are also associated with comparable side effects. These include the consequences of drug therapy following organ transplantation and in the context of autoimmune diseases or multimorbidity.

In addition to the use of caries- or periodontitis-inhibiting agents, such as toothpastes and mouth rinses, sustainable prevention concepts also include the teaching of sufficient oral hygiene strategies. By observing oral hygiene habits, we improve our understanding of this type of habitual activity and pattern. Furthermore, we determine the effectiveness of oral hygiene education in childhood and adolescence. The overarching aim of our work is to develop new strategies to change habitual patterns, with a particular focus on motological and cognitive aspects, in order to maintain oral health from childhood and into old age. In addition to the general population, people with a high need for prevention, such as people with a serious underlying disease that has an impact on oral health, but also people with manual impairments, benefit greatly from these research activities.