[Patient motivation by application of an individual intensive program for obtaining oral health]

The failure of group and individual dental prophylaxis based upon an authoritarian relationship between doctors and patients is demonstrated. In a new information and motivation program, the Hygiene Intensive Program (HIP), the patient's attention is focused on gingival bleeding as an unmistakable warning symptom of oral disease. The degree of marginal inflammation is scored using the Papillary Bleeding Index (PBI). The HIP is designed to introduce trust and confidence into the cooperative efforts of the dentist and the patient. The patient can see the increasing success of the dentist's work and judge the effect of his personal oral hygiene efforts. The possibilities for the cooperation of the increasingly involved third party of the dental "Troika", the actual purchaser of dental services (health insurance, social welfare system, etc.) in the HIP are discussed.