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In This Section by Trisha O’Hehir, RDH, MS Editorial Director, Hygienetown

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Is Tooth Decay Inevitable?

by Trisha O’Hehir, RDH, MS Editorial Director, Hygienetown

My childhood experience with the dentist was not asking “if ” I had a cavity, but rather “how many” cavities I had at each visit. Are carious lesions inevitable? Will everyone, except maybe the children of hygienists, have to deal with dental caries one day?

In my travels I often ask the person next to me on a plane if they think tooth decay is inevitable. Do they think everyone will eventually have cavities? Invariably, the answer is yes. The adults have had tooth decay, their parents did and they fully expect their children will also have tooth decay one day. Hopefully not as many cavities as they had, but cavities nonetheless.

What do you think? Ask your friends, people you see at church or at your kid’s after-school functions if they think dental disease is inevitable. It’s even worse when your own family members in fields other than dentistry fully expect their kids to experience tooth decay someday. No one I’ve talked to outside dentistry actually believed that tooth decay was preventable. Surprisingly, many dental professionals surrounded by dental disease all day also believe it’s inevitable.

In the past, tooth decay was diagnosed when the explorer dropped into a hole on the tooth surface. Those frank cavitations can now be prevented through early intervention and identification of risk factors. Knowing more about the quality and pH of saliva and the kind and number of bacteria in the mouth provides valuable information before tooth decay occurs. Kids in the future will no longer wait to find out if they have cavities. New technologies are available to monitor risk factors that can predict caries activity before it breaks through the enamel and requires a restoration. The new question is – What is my risk for future tooth decay and what can I do to reduce that risk?

Inside This Section
116      Perio Reports
120      Profile in Oral Health: Technologies for Caries Risk Assessment and Prevention
124    Message Board: 19-year-old Female – What Are Your Thoughts on the Cause?
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