Preventive Dentistry and Oral Health Education

Comprehensive flashcards covering preventive dentistry methods, brushing techniques, fluoride therapy terminology, and the causes of dental caries based on the lecture notes.

Preventive Dentistry

A cornerstone of dental practice involving investments of time, energy, personnel, and money to prevent and inhibit the occurrence of dental caries.

Oral Health Education

The process of providing oral health information to people so they can apply its principles to prevent oral disorders, bad breath, tooth rot, and gum infection.

Bass Method

A brushing technique where bristles are placed topically toward the gingiva into the gingival sulcus at a $45$-degree angle using very short back and forth vibratory motions.

Charters Method

A brushing technique where bristles are placed coronally at a $45$-degree angle with sides half on teeth and half on gingiva, using smaller circular motions for excellent gingival stimulation.

Fones Method

An easy-to-learn brushing method where the brush is perpendicular to the tooth surface using wide circular movements on the buccal surfaces.

Intrasulcular Method

A technique involving a $45$-degree angle toward the gingival sulcus with short back and forth vibratory motion, followed by rolling the brush head toward the occlusal surface.

Physiologic Method

A brushing technique that mimics the passage of food over the gingiva using a gentle sweeping motion starting on the teeth and progressing over the gingiva.

Roll Method

A brushing method where the brush head is rolled to sweep bristles over the gingiva and tooth surfaces, starting from an apical position nearly parallel to the tooth surface.

Stillman Method

A technique where bristle ends rest on the gingiva and cervical portion of the tooth at an oblique angle, using a slight rotary motion for excellent gingival stimulation.

Pits and Fissure Sealants

Materials like resin composite or glass ionomer cements placed in high-risk locations to provide a physical barrier to microorganisms and carbohydrates.

Fluoride Therapy

The delivery of fluoride to the teeth topically or systemically designed to prevent tooth decay.

Fluoridation

The adjustment of the fluoride content of a community's water supply to an optimal level for the prevention of dental caries.

Fluoridization

The topical application of fluoride directly onto the enamel surfaces of the teeth.

Fluorosis

A condition resulting from ingestion of excessive fluoride during tooth development, characterized by mottling and staining of tooth enamel.

Dr. H. Trendley Dean

The individual who identified a direct relationship between community water fluoride levels and enamel fluorosis, and an inverse relationship between those levels and dental caries.

Grand Rapids, Michigan

The first city in the world to adjust the fluoride content of its water supply for dental health on January $25, 1945$.

Optimum Level of Fluoride

$1\,ppm$ (parts per million), though the optimal range in drinking water is generally between $0.7-1.2\,ppm$.

Sodium Fluoride ($NaF$)

The first compound used for water fluoridation and the current reference standard.

Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART)

An alternative approach for managing dental decay using only hand instruments for removal of decayed tissue, without anesthesia or electrical equipment.

Dental Caries

A multifactorial disease caused by the demineralization of enamel by organic acids produced through the metabolism of carbohydrates by microorganisms.

Streptococcus mutans

The principal microorganism involved in the carious process, which is present in the mouth only after tooth eruption.

Sucrose

The substrate considered the "archcriminal" of dental caries, providing microorganisms with the means for organic acid production.

Early Childhood Caries (ECC)

A form of rampant caries affecting children aged $6$ months to $3$ years old, also known as nursing bottle tooth decay (BBTD).