Prosthodontics

Whether patients are coming to us for tooth replacement due to disease, an accident, or cosmetics, it is important to identify their risk for disease going forward and make sure you have a strong, stable foundation on which to build their beautiful smile.

Many practitioners are finding less predictable results and higher failure rates for their dentistry than they, or their patients, would like. Realizing the role that biofilm bacteria play in this equation gives you the opportunity to ensure your patients have the confidence to accept, and a long-lasting life for, your best dentistry.

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.

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 prevent long-term cosmetic restoration damage.
• Understand that neutralizing products encourage the growth of healthy bacteria.