2.2 Education and Reinforcement

Patients at Low Risk

Oral health professionals should praise patients (as well as parents or caregivers if the patient is a young child or has cognitive disabilities) at low risk for dental caries for successfully preventing caries. Some patients at low risk may need oral hygiene instruction for areas that they miss when brushing.

Oral health professionals need to communicate to these patients that they should keep up the good work. Some patients may have been so successful at preventing dental caries that they do not need an oral examination every 6 to 12 months. Eighteen to 36 months may be a more appropriate recall interval for them.6

Recall intervals should be agreed upon, not dictated. For more information about recall intervals, see the “Recall Intervals” section in module 5.

Patients at Moderate Risk

Patients at moderate risk for dental caries need education about the conditions present in their mouths. Oral health professionals should clearly explain the conditions to the patient (as well as to the parent or caregiver, if needed). This is especially important for patients with numerous white spot lesions. Oral health professionals should emphasize preventive strategies.7

For these patients, oral health professionals also need to address toothbrushing frequency and technique, especially if one of the risk factors present is poor oral hygiene. Oral health professionals may want to encourage patients with incipient interproximal lesions to place a small amount of fluoridated toothpaste on their dental floss before flossing areas of concern.

Oral health professionals should tell patients at moderate risk that their oral health needs to be monitored to ensure that they can bring the infection under control. The recall interval for patients at moderate risk is every 6 to 12 months, depending on modifying factors.

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