Lec 1 Preventive Dentistry

Preventive Dentistry
5th Year- Dental Students
Al- Anbar a University 2024- 2025
Lecture: 1
What is preventive dentistry?
Prevention of oral diseases is concerned with maintenance of a normal masticating mechanism
by fortifying the structures of the oral cavity against damage and disease.
Preventive Dentistry is a branch of dentistry, deals with the preservation of healthy teeth and
gingiva and the prevention of dental and oral disease. The field involves dental procedures,
materials and programs that prevent the occurrence of oral diseases or retard their progression.
example:
1- Fluoride Treatments: Professional fluoride applications, such as fluoride varnishes or gels,

help strengthen tooth enamel and reduce the risk of tooth decay.
2- Dental Sealants: Thin coatings applied to the chewing surfaces of molars to prevent food and
bacteria from getting trapped and causing cavities.
3- Oral Hygiene Instruction Programs: Community or school-based programs that educate

individuals on proper brushing and flossing techniques to prevent plaque buildup and gum
disease.
4- Regular Dental Check-ups and Cleanings: Routine visits to the dentist for professional
cleaning and examination to identify early signs of oral diseases and prevent their progression.
5-Dietary Counseling: Programs advising patients on reducing sugar intake and incorporating
healthy habits that reduce the risk of caries.
Prevention in health care means action to stop ill health before it begins. In dealing with disease,
“prevention is better than a cure.”
General objectives of prevention:
- Control and prevent the risk factors (predisposing factors).
- Prevent the initiation of the disease.
- Prevent factors evoke sever onset of the disease (acute stage of the disease).
- Prevent and control factors evoke chronic state of the disease.
Is preventive dentistry still needed?

As decay rates decline, dentists turn their interest to previously underutilized therapies such as
cosmetic dentistry, orthodontics, third molar extractions, implant dentistry, and so on that need
improved preventive care.
On the other hand people are keeping most of their teeth into old age and living longer, which
means that preventing root caries, periodontal disease, and oral cancer will be even more
important than before.
The frail elderly is the fastest growing segment of the population, and they will need even more
preventive care because of their increased risk for disease.
Levels of prevention
The four levels of preventive care—primordial, primary, secondary, and tertiary care—are
detailed below:
1- Primordial prevention
Pre pathogenic stages employs measures to control factors predicted to cause disease; minimize
both future hazards to oral health and risk factors (socioeconomic and environmental factors).
2-Primary Prevention (Pre-pathogenesis)
Pre pathogenic stage employs measures that forestall the onset of the disease, to reverse the
progress of the initial stage, or to arrest the disease process before treatments becomes necessary.
It is the maintenance of the intact dentition, ie prevention of dental caries, gingivitis, and
periodontitis in a completely healthy mouth.
Primary preventive services are those that prevent the initiation of disease .It may be
accomplished by measures designed to promote general health and wellbeing or by specific
protective measures:
a. Health promotion: It is process of enabling people to increase control over and to improve
health. This can be achieved by
1) Health education; instruction on proper plaque removal, daily tooth brushing and flossing
2) Environment modification such as safe water, control of insects
3) Nutritional interventions: improvement of nutrition in vulnerable group.
4) Lifestyle and behavioral changes; which favor health
b. Specific protection: These are activities designed to protect against disease agents by
decreasing the susceptibility of the host or by establishing barrier against agents in the
environment. Methods include immunization, use of specific nutrition, avoidance of allergens,
protection from carcinogens, the use of fluoridated toothpaste and application of pit and fissure
sealants.
3-Secondary prevention (Pathogenesis Initial Stage of Pathogenesis):
Pathogenic stage employs routine treatments methods, to terminate a disease process and to
restore tissues as near normal as possible. It is the prevention of progression of a recurrence of
diseases after successful symptomatic treatment.
Ex: Deep scaling , Restoration, Periodontal surgery, Endodontic
4-Tertiary Prevention (Pathogenesis Late Stage of Pathogenesis):
It employs measures necessary to replace lost tissues and to rehabilitate patients to the point that
functions is as near normal as possible, after the failure of the secondary preventions.
Ex: Prosthodontics , Implant

Lec 1 Preventive Dentistry

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lec 1 Preventive Dentistry

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lec 1 Preventive Dentistry

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Preventive Dentistry

5th Year- Dental Students

Al- Anbar a University 2024- 2025

1- Fluoride Treatments: Professional fluoride applications, such as fluoride varnishes or gels,

3- Oral Hygiene Instruction Programs: Community or school-based programs that educate

- Prevent the initiation of the disease.

- Prevent and control factors evoke chronic state of the disease.

Is preventive dentistry still needed?

2-Primary Prevention (Pre-pathogenesis)

2) Environment modification such as safe water, control of insects

3) Nutritional interventions: improvement of nutrition in vulnerable group.

4) Lifestyle and behavioral changes; which favor health

3-Secondary prevention (Pathogenesis Initial Stage of Pathogenesis):

Ex: Deep scaling , Restoration, Periodontal surgery, Endodontic

4-Tertiary Prevention (Pathogenesis Late Stage of Pathogenesis):

Ex: Prosthodontics , Implant

You might also like