At Get Dental Plans, all of our company dental insurance plans include preventative dental care that includes check-ups and hygienist visits. This is critical to maintaining good oral health, as catching issues before they escalate into more serious issues is of major importance. If you are interested in company dental plans and preserving the dental health of your employees, please contact us today.
This article is shared from Dentistry.co.uk and shows the importance of giving all patients preventative dental care advice from the perspective of two dentists. This is following on from a new study that suggests that only a third of oral health professionals always offer preventative dental care advice to patients.
The study, carried out by Haleon and the College of General Dentistry, looked at the current role of preventative oral healthcare in the UK.
Other findings included:
One third (34%) of oral health professionals always offer preventative care advice to patients
One in four (25%) patients weren’t given preventative advice during their last dental appointment
More than half (59%) of oral health professionals are more likely to offer preventative advice for private patients than NHS patients.
Dentistry.co.uk spoke to two dental professionals about the findings and what they think they mean for dentistry:
Mohsan Ahmad – Dentist
The results from the survey surprised me, as the vast majority of dentists I know always offer preventive advice, despite the challenge of time constraints. In Greater Manchester, we have offered Making Every Contact Count (MECC) training, which encourages all dental team members to offer short and quick preventive messages. Patients find this useful. Moving forward, I believe we should utilise the skills of all our team, to aid in delivering preventive advice to patients.
However, I was more shocked at 15% of private dentists not offering preventive advice, as I would have thought that they would be more likely to offer this as they have fewer time constraints.
With the vast majority of dental diseases preventable, it is paramount patients get tailored advice to help them take ownership and manage their self care.
Lauren Long – Dental Therapist
I don’t think it’s surprising to hear that there is a difficulty in communicating preventative oral health advice to patients due to time constraints. As dental professionals, we are more than aware that the research heavily points towards an effective home care routine being the most beneficial factor in prevention of dental disease.
However, under the current NHS England UDA system, there is no fee provision for this advice alone, despite its importance. For example, if a patient attends for a ‘scale and polish’ as it is labelled under the current system, the clinician must carry this out, potentially leaving only a small amount of time for preventive advice.
It is the hope that any future changes to the NHS contract in all parts of the UK would include a greater emphasis on the value of great oral health education in helping patients maintain oral health for life. If using a private dentist it is felt that this might not be as much of an issue as they have more time for appointments, however it is still an issue. If you are ever unsure of how to look after your teeth, your dentist will always be able to offer advice. Also note that at Get Dental Plans, all of our dental insurance plans include treatment at NHS and private dentists.