Dental caries and periodontal disease (prevention and control methods)

There is a compelling need to apply preventive programs in both private and community practice of dentistry. This is to maintain improvements in oral health in developed and industrialized countries, and to stem increases in oral diseases in underserved and developing ones. At the outset, the terms prevention and control must be understood. The former is considered to mean a procedure or course of action that prevents the onset of disease, whereas the latter, implies reversing or stabilizing disease conditions. To be more precise, prevention will refer to the pre-pathologic or pre-clinical stage encompassing the promotive and specific protection levels--primary prevention stage. On the other hand, control will encompass early diagnosis and prompt treatment, disability limitation and rehabilitation levels-termed also collectively, as pathologic, clinical and final stages, or secondary and tertiary prevention. Community-based programs are usually structured to compliment therapeutic interventions of oral diseases, as well as prevention. In this era, and towards the next millennium, preventive and control programs are given high priorities in order to minimize the need for curative, restorative and therapeutic management of oral diseases. This review of the literature will give emphasis on established methods and programs for the prevention and control of the two most common oral diseases, dental caries and periodontal disease. The problems, background, and oral health objectives for the year 2000 as proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Federation Dentaire Internationale (FDI), as well as the recent advances in oral health relative to these diseases will be discussed. Finally, to better improve the efficacy of existing prevention and control methods, research needs and areas of concern relative to these diseases will be given consideration.