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Many of us are scared to go to the dentist, and this fear is compounded by the terrible prospect that during each visit, you could be subjected to a purring exercise to sneak through your poor crooked teeth.
The results of a seven-year study conducted by Australian researchers suggest that many of us do not have to worry, research on oral care techniques "without "forest" showing that it is often not necessary to use the traditional "fill and drill" approach that has defined dentistry for decades.
"There is no point in patients getting fillings because they are not needed in many cases of tooth decay," said study author Wendell Evans of the University of Sydney , in 2015.
"This research indicates the need for a major change in the way dentists handle tooth decay … Our study shows that a preventative approach has major advantages over current practice."
The study was published in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology in 2015. According to the researchers, tooth decay is not the fast-growing phenomenon that dentists have long believed.
Because dentists thought that decay was evolving rapidly, the conventional practice was to identify early decay, remove it immediately to prevent the tooth surface from breaking into cavities and filling the hole left with the filling. .
But decay is not always progressive, said Evans and his team, and even then, it develops more slowly than dentists thought.
"For example, it takes an average of four to eight years for caries to progress from the outer layer of the tooth (enamel) to the inner layer (dentin)," he said. "It's a long time for the decay to be detected and treated before it becomes a cavity and requires a filling."
Developing a set of protocols that they call the Caries Management System (CMS), researchers say that tooth decay can be stopped, reversed and prevented well before a drill is used. .
With caries risk assessments, dental X-rays interpretation and specific risk monitoring, signs of early caries that have not yet created caries are detected and treated with fluoride varnish. high concentration, rather than using more invasive means.
Evan and colleagues showed that the risk of cavities was reduced by 30 to 50% in patients receiving a CMS.
"[The CMS] showed that early decay could be stopped and reversed and that the need for drilling and filling was greatly reduced, "said Evans. A tooth should only be drilled and filled when a hole in the tooth (cavity) is already evident. "
Patients should also be involved in making the most of SMC, paying attention to their ability to brush their teeth at home and limiting snacks and drinks between meals containing added sugar.
But if you can comply with these rules and help run the system, up to half of the cavities (and boreholes) of your future could be eliminated. So, is it worth it to make a few small sacrifices?
The study was published in Community dentistry and oral epidemiology.
A version of this article was published in December 2015.
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