Cosmetic Dentistry

As we enter a new era of “wants-based” dentistry, we have the opportunity to provide our patients with the beautiful, straight, white smiles they have always wanted.  In order to make way for these types of cosmetic procedures, we want our patients to be as healthy as possible so they have the ability to do the dentistry they want, and know their dentistry will be beautiful, succesful and long-lasting.

The latest research on the caries infection has now identified a few key concepts:

• This infection is not pathogen specific, it is a biofilm disease and there are now 23 identified strains of bacteria, any combination of which may contribute in an individual.
• pH is the strongest “selection pressure” that determines whether these cariogenic strains are present at pathogenic levels.
• There are some key risk factors that can determine our patients’ susceptibility to this infection.
  

The other paradigm shift taking place is the wide-spread understanding that drilling and filling cavities, or placing crowns and veneers, is not sufficient in treating this disease.  Dr. John Kois states that “caries risk assessment identifies patients at risk for dental caries even before they have expressed the disease and best targets treatment for those patients that have already expressed the disease. We need to find ways, like CariFree, to help our patients move from the repair model to the wellness model.”

Solutions for your practice

• Develop a simple risk assessment protocol to determine your patients’ susceptibility to dental caries. This will help identify those patients who will need caries management prior to cosmetic work, as well as those who will need long-term maintenance to assure a long life for their restorations.
• This type of individualized care will build your patients’ confidence to invest in the dentistry they really want.
• Take a look at the products you currently recommend and whether they work to treat the caries infection or just remineralize the damage.
• Take special consideration for the pH, as well as the potential abrasiveness, of products to reduce potential damage to cosmetic restorations over time.  Alkaline products promote healthy bacterial growth.