Will you or your child get holes in your teeth in the future?
Caries, cavities or holes in the teeth is one of the most common diseases in our communities. What’s interesting, however, is that 70% of all caries occur in only 25% of people. Because some people are affected more than others they need better and more sophisticated monitoring and protection. Modern dental science has provided many answers. The following classification tells us which are the important factors and how we can predict whether you will end up with holes or not.
Key:
Clinical Parameter
| Measure | Risk | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Plaque control | ||
| No plaque on any teeth | Low | 0 |
| Plaque on 30% of tooth surfaces | Medium | 1 |
| Plaque on all tooth surfaces | High | 2 |
| 2. Sugar, snacks and cool drink intake between meals | ||
| Seldom, only with meals | Low | 0 |
| Sometimes but fewer than 3x between meals | Medium | 1 |
| More than 3x between meals | High | 2 |
| 3. Fluoride use and exposure | ||
| Daily in toothpaste and Zymaflour/Dentyl | Low | 0 |
| Toothpaste only | Medium | 1 |
| Never | High | 2 |
| 4. Dental visits | ||
| Regular / twice a year | Low | 0 |
| Sometimes / every 2-3 years | Medium | 1 |
| Never | High | 2 |
| 5. Depth and hardness of grooves on teeth | ||
| Shallow and sealed | Low | 0 |
| Deep and not sealed | Medium | 1 |
| Deep, dark stains and “sticky” | High | 2 |
| 6. Amount and consistency of saliva | ||
| Lots of “watery” saliva | Low | 0 |
| Little saliva with thick & “tacky” consistency | Medium | 1 |
| Very little saliva, feeling of “dry mouth” | High | 2 |
| 7. Caries or holes in last 12 months | ||
| None | Low | 0 |
| One | Medium | 1 |
| More than one | High | 2 |
| 8. Lesions on smooth outer tooth surfaces | ||
| None | Low | 0 |
| Lesions on outside surfaces & between teeth | Medium | 1 |
| Big caries and restorations near gum line | High | 2 |
| 9. Dental treatments and previous restorations | ||
| Hardly any / few small fillings | Low | 0 |
| Some (3-6) “half tooth size” fillings | Medium | 1 |
| Huge fillings on 50% of teeth | High | 2 |
Score yourself based on the above criteria and then add up the points to evaluate your score in the following categories.
| 0 to 6 points | You have a low risk of developing a hole in your tooth. Review clinical parameters 1 to 4 that can be influenced by yourself and keep your teeth beautiful and clean. |
| 6 to 12 points | You have a medium risk of developing a hole in your tooth. Make sure that you have clinical parameters 1 to 4 fully under control. Optimise things that you can change and visit your dentist at least every 6 to 12 months. |
| 12 to 18 points | You have a very high risk of developing holes in your teeth. Optimise clinical parameters 1 to 4 and visit your dentist every 4 to 8 months. A special program should be introduced and specific procedures must be shown to you to prevent major breakdown of your teeth. |
After a Caries Risk Analysis has been done for you, your dentist will recommend a specific preventive program for each patient. The following are procedures that have been scientifically proven and are endorsed by the majority of modern dentists.
We recommend the following
Low risk:
- Visit the dentist every 6 to 12 months for general check-ups.
- Get dental X-rays every 24 months.
- Brush teeth very well in the morning.
- Brush really well with normal fluoridated toothpaste every evening before bed-time.
- Eat normal, healthy foods with main meals.
- Limit intake of sweets, carbonated cool-drinks and snacks to a maximum of 3x between main meals.
- Monitor own dental health by using the above guidelines.
The above guidelines are the basic requirements for dental health and should be used in all cases.
Medium risk:
- Brush really well with normal fluoridated toothpaste every evening before bed-time.
- Brush your teeth very well in the mornings.
- Use a daily Fluoride rinse e.g. Dentyl.
- Eat normal, healthy foods with main meals.
- Limit intake of sweets, carbonated cool-drinks and snacks to a maximum of 3x between main meals.
- Chew sugar-free chewing gum or cheese after meals or having eaten sweets.
- Visit the dentist every 6 months for general check-ups.
- Get dental X-rays every 18 months.
- Get professional fluoride applications twice a year.
- Monitor own dental health by using the above guidelines.
High risk:
- Brush and floss really well with normal fluoridated toothpaste every evening before bed-time.
- Brush your teeth very well every morning.
- After brushing, chew one Zymaflour tablet and let it dissolve in your mouth before going to sleep or rinse with Dentyl for at least 30 seconds.
- Eat normal, healthy foods with main meals.
- Limit intake of sweets, carbonated cool-drinks and snacks to a maximum of 3x between main meals.
- Chew sugar-free chewing gum or cheese after meals or having eaten sweets.
- Visit the dentist every 3-4 months for general check-ups.
- Get dental X-rays every 12 months.
- Have all your permanent teeth sealed by a dentist or oral hygienist.
- Get professional fluoride applications 3-4 times a year.
- Ask your dentist about specific “Chlorhexidine Rinsing Programs” to eliminate harmful bacteria in your mouth.
- Monitor own dental health by using the above guidelines.
The above preventive programs have been designed by us to stop problems before they start. Once caries have started and cannot be stopped anymore by conservative methods, the dentist will remove the diseased dental tissue and will replace it with substances that have been developed specifically for this purpose. This process will only replace the damaged tissue and cannot prevent future problems.
Preventive knowledge and programs are the foundation of modern dentistry and of a healthy smile
