Oral Health … From Good to Better

The dental profession is known for working to eliminate dental caries and periodontal disease, but we cannot rest on the laurels of fluoride and electrical toothbrushes. Over the years we witnessed a silent debate as to whether we are really doctors or just dental technicians who clean teeth, deliver porcelain crowns and replace amalgam restorations. From my point of view, a good dentist must be a combination of diagnostician, technician, healer and artist, but if we truly aspire to become health providers, our goal of excellence must aim towards the elimination of dental disease and not just the treatment of its consequences.
In the last 20 years there has been a complete transition from reactive dentistry, which implies treating according to symptoms, to a very much prevention orientated dental profession. This new concept means that instead of reacting to an already established oral health problem, the treatment must focus on preventing dental diseases before irreversible damage to oral hard and soft tissues occurs. [More]