Please activate JavaScript!
Please install Adobe Flash Player, click here for download
ePaper created 2015-04-13, 15:09:21 | version 1.33.01
Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition | 1/201530 In prophylaxis, the individual approach is as important as the training aspect. Cu- raprox’s prophylaxis training iTOP, there- fore, considers“prevention”to be more than justusingfluoridetoothpaste.WhenRolfKu- fus, a Zurich dentist, talks about prevention, he emphasises the demands that prevention makesondentistsandpatientsalike.Hecom- pares it to music. “Inmostcases,prophylaxismeansthatthe guitaristinaheavymetalbandsuddenlyhas to learn to play the harp. This is not some- thing you learn overnight—and especially not without a teacher,”Kufus said. Justlikeadelicaterippleonthe47stringsof a harp, iTOP teeth cleaning means saying goodbye to the coarse scrubbing by a rock guitarist with his few chords. Right through from cleaning interdental spaces to the proper use of the single tuft and the efficient method with a soft, densely-bristled tooth- brush based on the modified Bass method: iTOPisathree-steptutorialfordentalprofes- sionals, beginners and advanced learners alike. With a toothbrush, a single tuft brush, as wellasinterdentalbrushesanddentalflossin hand, participants learn over several days how prophylaxis is more than just fluorida- tion and that it means efficient and atrau- maticbrushing,individualtrainingandeven tailored coaching. Prophylaxiscanalsobeapleasureaswellas it can motivate. Yes, my teeth are clean, my gums are healthy! Train and train once again iTOP is individually trained oral prophy- laxis, that rejects the thinly-spread “water- ing-can” principle in favour of individually tailored prevention. Every mouth is differ- ent. If one form of prophylaxis is ideal, an- other leads to sustainable success. And be- cause the individual approach often means “scrub less” that is also the training aspect that iTOP alumni such as Rolf Kufus empha- siseinparticular.Howelsearewetocompete against the force of habit, which so often causesustobrushourteethincorrectlyfrom childhoodon—withtoomuchpressurefrom toohardatoothbrushanddentalflosswhere only an interdental brush is of use? “Patients with tooth-cleaning damage such as exposed tooth necks are unaware of being ill but instead they feel they’re doing everything right,” said Kufus. “And nobody wants to intentionally destroy their mouth. These are all simply wrongly trained habits.” Catherine Schubert, dental hygiene spe- cialist and iTOP instructor, knows how detri- mentalthesehabitscanbe.“Alltoooften,Isee patientswhoarestillsufferingfrombleeding gums even after ten years of treatment be- cause they were not educated and trained. Thisbleedingcouldsoeasilybestopped,”she remarked. Implants–the failures of prophylaxis Rolf Kufus realigned the prophylaxis con- ceptforPersonalisedDentistryinhispractice after his first iTOP course. “Peoplearelivingintotheir90snowadays. It’s better without exposed tooth necks.” He recalls that a tooth goes through about six stages in the course of its existence from emerging to falling out. “If we succeed in delaying each of these stages by a few years, then, except for special cases such as accidents or agenesis, an im- plant may no longer be necessary.” In this new interpretation, an implant can beultimatelyseenasafailureofprophylaxis. It is no longer like it used to be, when pro- phylaxis was primarily understood to mean brushing three times a day using fluoride toothpaste and the brunt of the dental work was placed on tooth repair. Today, there is an ever-increasingnumberofdentistswhoview prevention as an essential part of the Hippo- cratic oath—namely the obligation to dental healthasawhole.Thisalsochangestheroleof dentalhygienistswhoaresheddingtheirrole as “abrasive cleaners” and are turning into partners and fitness trainers for the oral health of patients. Ultimately, iTOP also changes the role of a dental practice, moving away from repair to- wards prevention—without losing sight of profit orientation. More information are available at www.kufus.ch www.curaprox.com www.itop-dental.com ADVERTORIAL iTOP: It is like using a harp instead of a rock guitar What teeth need is prevention comparable to the gentle sound of a harp say dentist Rolf Kufus and iTOP instructor Catherine Schubert.(Photo courtesy of Curaprox) How dental care can be fun The three most common mistakes. Cleaning in the wrong place: the toothbrush is not close enough to the gums, with the result that its bristles can- not reach the sulcus. Brushing with too hard a toothbrush: if the toothbrush bristles are too hard, the patient automatically moves the brush away from the gums and simultaneously causes brushing damage. Brushingwithtoomuchpressure:togetherwithcutsby flossing (and resulting recession of the gums), one the most frequently corrected errors. The three most easily achievable improvements. Using an interdental brush: iTOP graduates learn with surprising speed just how efficiently the spaces between theteethcanbecleaned. Feelingratherthanintellect:DHprofessionalsmainlyin- structpatientsusingamodel.IniTOPcourses,theylearn on each other how atraumatic tooth cleaning actually feels. Brushing perceived as pleasure: bleeding disappears in an instant thanks to a change in brushing technique and asoftbrush.Dentalcareanditsresultscreatehappiness. DTUK0115_30_itop 09.04.15 15:40 Seite 30 DTUK0115_30_itop 09.04.1515:40 Seite 30