Optimal prophylaxis with interdental brushes

In dentistry (and medicine), there are three types of prevention: primary, secondary and tertiary. Primary prevention is concerned with avoiding diseases and their causes. Four factors are important here: good oral hygiene, a healthy diet, professional preventative measures (such as fluoridation, cleaning and fissure sealing) and education. While patients are able to remove supragingival biofilm through manual plaque control, subgingival biofilm can only be eliminated by a professional cleaning. Primary prevention, especially daily oral care, forms the foundation to prevent caries, periodontal disease and other inflammation, keeping the mouth healthy. This reflects modern practice philosophy: it is best when the patient is already healthy when he or she enters the practice. This requires proper instruction in oral care, establishing good oral hygiene habits, and the use of the optimal products and techniques in perfect combination.

Secondary prevention aims to slow down the progression of disease, for example during the development of periodontal disease or peri-implant mucositis. Secondary prophylaxis diagnoses caries and periodontal disease as early as possible, proactively remineralises enamel and treats orthodontic misalignment early on. Tertiary prevention begins when tooth function has been lost. Secondary and tertiary prophylaxis are everyday matters in many Swiss dental practices, but primary prophylaxis is our ambitious aim. Owing to modern dental prevention, the team can ensure that a patient keeps his or her teeth for life. How can we achieve the best possible prophylaxis?

Modern prophylaxis encompasses the following factors and steps: recognising the patient’s individual problems in maintaining his or her oral health and his or her daily oral care habits, removing supragingival plaque and calculus, providing individual instruction on the use of oral hygiene tools, establishing a bleeding index, monitoring via radiographs, providing nutritional advice and following a fluoridation programme. Furthermore, prophylaxis individually adapted to the patient ensures the therapy’s long-term success. Properly coached oral health practitioners are indispensable.

That is where CURAPROX comes in. Individual coaching programmes with the best products, personal advice and preventative instruction for patients on how to use the oral hygiene products ensure the therapy’s success. CURAPROX products and concepts are the key to prophylaxis that is successful in the long run. Proper and regular use of high-quality toothbrushes, dental floss and, most importantly, interdental brushes from CURAPROX means that patients achieve complete cleaning. CURAPROX is an indispensable part of any prophylactic treatment.

Healthy gaps need care
Today, the focus of biofilm management is on the interdental area. A toothbrush only cleans around 60–70 per cent of the surface area of the teeth, the remaining 30–40 per cent being interdental surfaces and thus impossible for a toothbrush to access. From the perspective of optimised prophylaxis, CURAPROX offers the finest interdental brushes on the market, providing a more effective and gentler alternative to dental floss. The interdental brushes in the CPS prime and CPS perio lines are easy to use and long-lasting. Owing to technological innovations, CURAPROX interdental brushes are produced with long, fine bristles and very thin CURAL wires. The wire means that the bristles are very pliable, ensuring a thorough clean—even of the smallest interdental spaces. Before and after every professional tooth cleaning, the practice team should recommend the use of CURAPROX interdental brushes and thoroughly instruct patients in their use.

The fine CPS prime is ideal for closed interdental spaces. In a study titled “Efficacy of interdental calibrated brushes on bleeding reduction in adults: A 3-month randomized controlled clinical trial”, French researchers at the University of Lyon spent three months investigating whether interdental brushes could reduce interproximal bleeding in patients with gingivitis. One test group used a manual toothbrush twice a day, while the other group also used CPS prime interdental brushes. The researchers used a calibrated colorimetric probe to establish the size of the interdental spaces and therefore the correct brush sizes. The result was that interproximal bleeding was reduced by 47 per cent after one week and 71 per cent after three months.

Secondary prophylaxis just with the CPS perio
Many dental practices now offer secondary prophylaxis programmes. As soon as the active therapy phase is complete, the patient follows a specific periodontal care protocol that takes into account his or her oral health status, for example if the patient’s papillae are badly injured or if there are black triangles. Regardless of the method used in periodontal treatment, the periodontist’s work only constitutes around 30 per cent of the treatment’s success. Patients themselves are responsible for the other 70 per cent.  Cleaning interdental spaces is an intrinsic part of secondary prophylaxis. The CPS perio is ideal for periodontal patients: it is sufficiently rigid to clean efficiently enough to contribute to secondary prophylaxis, yet soft enough to avoid causing any pain. Most interdental brushes do not fill the whole interdental space and are far too hard, their use resulting in pain. The CPS perio is the first choice for secondary prophylaxis. Owing to extra-long and -fine bristles, it cleans the large spaces between bridges, crowns or fillings both effectively and gently. An especially strong core is used in the CPS perio to ensure that the bristles are stable.

The practice team’s use of a calibrated CURAPROX Interdental Access Probe to determine the correct sizes of the interdental brushes needed will support patients in optimal primary and secondary prophylaxis. The chairside box for dental professionals includes pre-mounted CPS prime and CPS perio brushes, as well as Interdental Access Probes to precisely measure interdental spaces. Holders can be reused as required. All interdental brushes and probes can be hygienically and tidily stored in the treatment unit within easy reach.

In summary, CURAPROX interdental brushes with their long, stable bristles can reach and clean pockets and other critical interdental areas to prevent periodontal disease and caries. This reflects the latest understanding of prophylaxis.

Find out more on www.curaprox.com.

Tags: