Almost half of adults age 30 and older, about 65 million, have a form of chronic inflammatory gum disease that can ultimately lead to tooth loss. The new study, published Monday in The Journal of Dental Research, suggests that the frequency of dental visits for cleanings and other preventive services should be tailored to each person’s risk factors for periodontal disease.“The findings suggest that for low-risk patients, a yearly prophylactic visit does prevent tooth loss over a protracted period of 16 years, and there’s no significant difference in an added visit,” said Dr. Robert J. Genco, a periodontist and SUNY distinguished professor of oral biology at the University at Buffalo, who was not involved in the study. “They found if you had more than one risk factor, that maybe two visits isn’t optimal.”Yes, well, we thought you were doing that. We thought you were experts and professionals.
“If you are high risk, it is much more important for you to be seen frequently, but for the low-risk people it’s not,” said Dr. William V. Giannobile, the study’s lead author and the chairman of the department of periodontics at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry.
“The take-away is not that you don’t need to see the dentist, it’s that each patient needs to be treated in their own individual way,” he added.
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