The prevention connection: linking dental health education and prevention

Education and prevention are inextricably linked. In what proportion these two entities should be represented in any prevention/education programme is a question now to be faced. The proportions are likely to be different in programmes which aim to prevent the two major diseases which challenge dentistry. Dental caries, already declining sharply in economically developed countries, is largely preventable at the community level with relatively little need for individually based dental health education. Here, the concept of education must be broadened to go beyond the 'motivation' of the individual patient: it is best directed at community decision-makers rather than at individuals. As yet periodontal disease is not amenable to community-based prevention. There is no equivalent in the prevention of periodontal disease to the use of fluoride. Control of periodontal disease in the long run must be through individual education supported by an appropriate level of professional care. All this presents a major challenge to the way dentistry is practised and to the way public educational programmes are developed. Existing programmes need to be constantly reassessed and matched against demographic information and epidemiological data on disease trends. Overall, it is clear that oral diseases can never be successfully controlled without firmly linking education and prevention.