Patient Education and Motivation

2.  Dentistry is about preventing oral disease, such
as dental decay, and preventing and caring for
periodontal disease
 Important to educate the public on how to
prevent disease
 Must be knowledgeable about the many
products available that aid patients in
maintaining their teeth and gums
 Know how to motivate patients to be effective in
their oral hygiene care

3.  To be effective in preventative dentistry, DA’s
must fist care for their own teeth properly
and practice good nutrition

4.  Brush and floss daily
 Periodically disclose to evaluate the
effectiveness of brushing and flossing
 Follow a fluoride program while the teeth are
developing to allow them to be strong and
decay resistant
 See a dentist for routine care and when teeth
newly erupt in order to have the dentist
evaluate if enamel sealants need to be placed
 Follow a good nutrition and exercise program
to maintain overall health
 Schedule regular dental visits

5.  Preventing dental disease is ultimately the
responsibility of the patient
 Dental auxiliaries spend a great deal of time
educating and motivating patients
 First aspect is to assess patients oral hygiene
and listen to the patient
 What motivates them?
 Get a plan of action for oral care

6.  Each patent should be treated as an individual
 Taking into consideration
› Patients age
› Oral hygiene knowledge
› Skills
› Attitude
› Any special considerations

7. Characteristics Needs Teaching
Unable to care for
teeth on their own
Must be accomplished
by parent or guardian
Position child in arms or
sitting in chair
Needs to be positive
experience
How to hold hand and use
washcloths or infant tooth
brushes
Make it fun

8. Characteristics Needs Teaching
Lacks highly developed
motor skills
Use visual aids Use “Mr. Air” or blow
“wind” on the tooth
Attention span of about
5 minutes
First appt with dentist
around the age of 3
“upstairs” and
“downstairs” teeth
Unable to read Should be positive and
pleasant
Must get through
monitored brushing at
least once a day
(bedtime) but twice a day
is best
Loves to imitate parents Still need parental
assistance
Floss between molars
once per day

9. Characteristics Needs Teaching
Attention span 10-15
minutes
Positive reinforcement Teach better brushing
techniques
Learning to read Make it fun and
entertaining
Teach how to floss
Likes to please adults
and enjoys learning
Coloring sheets, matching,
finding items make learning
fun
Requires constant
guidance
ADA videos
Dexterity is improving

10. Characteristics Needs Teaching
Wants to fit in with peers Mixed dentition may
need special care
Realistic visual aids
Very curious Rewards for good
hygiene
Are able to brush an
floss proficiently
“No cavity club” wall in
office
30 min attention span

11. Characteristics Needs Teaching
Motivated by peer
pressure and personal
appearance
Improved nutrition May need practice
flossing
May be uncoordinated More diligence with
hygiene
Teach good nutrition
Provide positive
reinforcement

12. Characteristics Needs Teaching
Peer pressure
continues
Improves nutrition
habits
Allow them to take
responsibility
Questioning of
authority
Improve techniques Teach about the role of sugar in
tooth health, plaque formation,
and decay
Wants to avoid bad
breath
Demonstrate improved
brushing and flossing
techniques
Improved
coordination

13. Characteristics Needs Teaching
May develop gingivitis or
periodontal disease
Have more specialized
needs and concerns that
are individualized
Teach how to unlearn
bad habits
Plaque may build up with
lack of dental care
Must be involved and
motivated
Assistance with
identifying problems
Teach that bleeding
indicates care or
attention is required

14. Characteristics Needs Teaching
Motivated to keep teeth
for lifetime
Repair or replacement of
restorations and
appliances
Teach value of routine
appointments
May develop physical
impairments
Discuss age-related
changes that impact oral
health
May be taking
Medications
Techniques to adapt to
arthritis
Discuss impact of
medications or oral health

15.  Patients are ultimately responsible for caring
for their oral health at home
 The DA can suggest ideas that will help
 Ideas will differ or each patient
 If everything look well, let them know they
are doing a good job

16.  Make patients aware that the gingival tissue
may be sore and bleed when they first start a
vigorous oral hygiene program
 This means that the tissues are not healthy,
but they will improve over time
 Just like starting an exercise program

17. Historical Aspect of
Preventive Dental Care
 Dr. Alfred C. Fones
 Founder of dental hygiene and preventative dentistry
 Hundreds of millions of dollars in public and private
funds are expended to restore the sick to health but
only a relatively small portion of this amount is spent to
maintain the health of well people, even though it is
definitely known that the most common physical
defects and illnesses are preventable.

18.  Some propose that dental hygiene truly was the primary
component of the prevention movement in health care.
 Most insurance companies routinely cover preventative
care because of the long-term benefit and cost
effectiveness of prevention in dental health
 Many communities voluntarily add fluoride to their water
supplies as a method of preventing dental disease
 Many school systems offer their students dental sealants
though dental health providers

19.  Oral health means much more than healthy teeth.
 Oral health is essential to general health.
 Safe and effective disease prevention measures
exist so that everyone can voluntarily decide to
improve oral health and prevent disease.

20.  Although, dental disease are preventable, dental
health in the US remains an issue
 More that $60 billion is spent in the US for dental
care each year
 Burden of dental decay is not even distributed
› lower income households
› Ethnic minorities
› Many times have special needs

21.  Oral health and its relationship to total heath
emphasize the need for preventative dental care
 Research has linked periodontal diseases to systemic
diseases
› Cardiovascular diseases
› Respiratory diseases
› Diabetes
› Cancer
› Premature and low-birth weight baby's
› Many more

22.  Oral health is not a minor health concern: it
affects overall heath and well-being
throughout life

23.  The wellness scale defines a continuum from a
state of health to a state of illness and death,
with areas in between for quality-of-life
indicators
 Health is the state of complete physical, mental,
and social well-being and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity. (World Health
Organization)

24.  The individual is a multidimensional being with 5
dimensions:
› Physical
› Mental
› Spiritual
› Social
› Emotional
 To experience total health, an individual must attain
each dimension of health
 Preventative strategies need to be focused on all
multidisciplinary dimensions of health, realizing that
all aspects affect overall health

25.  Uses strategies and agents to prevent the onset of
diseases, reverse the progress of disease, or arrest
the disease process before secondary preventive
treatment becomes necessary
 This level is sometimes thought of as dental
hygiene.
 It is essential to realize that biologic repair of
incipient lesions and cure of gingivitis are preferred
alternatives to restorations for periodontal
treatment

26.  Oral evaluation
 Dental prophylaxis
 Fluoride as a
preventive agent
 Dental sealants
 Xylitol
 Health education
 Health promotion

27.  Uses routine treatment methods to terminate a
disease process and/or restore tissues to as
near normal as possible
 This level can be termed restorative care

28.  Dental restorations
 Periodontal debridement
 Fluoride use on incipient caries
 Dental sealants on incipient caries
(ART)
 Endodontics

29.  Uses measures necessary to replace lost
tissues and rehabilitate patients to as near
normal as possible
 This level can be termed reconstructive care.
 The shift from primary to tertiary prevention
results in an extremely rapid increase in the
cost of health care

30.  Prosthodontics
 Implants
 Oromaxillofacial surgery

32.  Dental providers should derive a deep sense of
satisfaction by helping individuals maintain their oral
structures in a state of maximum function
 Should become a vital component in the health care
delivery system, to enhance the overall health and
well-being of the population
 If preventative programs are started early by an
individual (or parents/guardians), long-range
freedom from diseases cause by plaque is possible