So, to follow up on my previous post where we discussed the importance of home hygiene care (Brushing & Flossing), I would like to share my thoughts on professional preventative care. Over the last decade, due to global economic factors and the way that medical aids have marginalized dental care, we have seen less and less patients consulting their dentists for regular check-ups, and crisis management has become a more frequent occurrence. 

  To illustrate: When a patient comes for regular check-ups and dental hygiene, we as dentists and our dental hygienists can detect problems with teeth and gums at an early stage. Early detection allows us to conservatively manage gum inflammation or small cavities, with results that will outlast elaborate treatment every time. If a patient only comes in once a tooth has broken or become painful or loose, the treatment require to save or replace the tooth is extensive. Here’s is the catch: If the patient had tended the problem earlier, both the cost and the discomfort of the treatment would have been much less, with results that would last much longer.

Better still would be never to get a cavity or gum disease! My belief regarding preventative care is also supported with a fantastic study conducted in Sweden by Dr Per Axelsson  (a leading authority on preventative care) and colleagues. In that study, 51–65 and 66–80 year-olds who participated in a needs-related, preventive program performed by a dental hygienist from 1972 to 2002 on average lost only 0.4 and 0.7 teeth respectively, did not get gum disease, and developed only 2 new cavities per subject per 30 years.(1)  

  In order to achieve these remarkable results, patients need to see their hygienist at least every 3 (high risk patients) to 6 (low risk patients) months for tailored preventative dental care and instruction. When seeing the hygienist as often as stated, check-ups with your dentist will only need to take place annually, and you will probably need almost no dental intervention for the rest of your life…The choice to take action remains yours!

Here is some interesting reading material on the matter:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/248356-preventive-dentistry-for-children

1) Axelsson, P., Nyström, B. and Lindhe, J. (2004), The long-term effect of a plaque control program on tooth mortality, caries and periodontal disease in adults. Journal of Clinical Periodontology, 31: 749–757. doi:10.1111/j.1600-051X.2004.00563.x