Caries-Prone Patients: Prevention, Assessment, and Intervention, 2nd edition

Course overview

Dental caries is a preventable disease that affects a majority of the population. According to the 2011-2012 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey, approximately 91 percent of adults ages 20 to 64 had at least one decayed tooth. Among adolescents ages 12 to 19, more than 58 percent had experienced dental caries in their permanent teeth. Thirty-seven percent of children ages 2 to 8 were found during that same 2011-2012 period to have experienced dental caries. These statistics show the increase in caries incidence over time, making it important for dental professionals to develop strategies for determining caries risk and counseling patients to reduce risk and a future of dental caries. The impact of nutrition on the caries process is known in the dental field, but dental professionals need to continue to convey the importance of this relationship to patients. Working as partners with patients, dental professionals can aid in the prevention of dental caries and help maintain patients over-all health by offering nutritional counseling and behavior modification techniques. The incidence of caries in the United States could decrease significantly as dental professionals implement the advances available for early caries detection, recommend anti-caries treatments, and offer nutritional analysis and counseling. This basic-level course is intended to equip all members of the dental team with the skills needed to realize this overriding goal.