The key to achieving better dental health is dependent on patients’ compliance with good oral hygiene and dietary practices to a large extent, but your dentist can help you move in that direction in many ways. For one, the dental team can be proactive; and incorporate Minimal Intervention Dentistry in their management of patients where appropriate.
What is Minimal Intervention Dentistry?
Minimal Intervention Dentistry (MID) has is defined as the prevention and detection of disease at its earliest stage, so that invasive treatment such as fillings can be avoided. However, where treatment can’t be avoided, the least invasive treatment option is carried out.
The Oral Care Centre offers in-depth analyses and diagnosis of the patient’s oral environment following the philosophy of MID and prescribes the best preventive measures. This translates to less need for clinical procedures to be performed.
Caries Risk Assessment
Dental decay or caries is defined as the chemical attack of the teeth structure by the acid produced by bacteria in plaque which is always found in our mouths.
The Oral Care Centre offers new chairside tools to assess patients’ plaque, saliva as well as oral biofilm, to have a better understanding of the patient’s oral environment. The following five factors of the oral environment: saliva, diet, fluoride, plaque (biofilm) and modifying factors are assessed and analysed. Following the risk assessment, a treatment plan is prescribed and tailored to reduce the impact of the factors that favour the development of tooth decay and enhancing the factors that favour remineralisation of the tooth structure.
Chairside tests are now available to the dental team to assess and measure the different factors. This is part of the caries risk assessment screening that is offered at The Oral Care Centre besides routine dental checks.
The GC Saliva pH indicator measures the pH of both resting and stimulated saliva.
The GC Saliva Check Kit allows the dental team to check a range of salivary functions to determine whether the protective properties of saliva are in place. The flow rate, acidity of both resting and stimulated saliva; as well as the ability of saliva to neutralize an acid challenge are measured and assessed