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Dental Tribune Middle East & Africa Edition | 3/2016 14 oraL HEaLtH UeliBreitschmid,CEOofCuraden:"It isalwaysimportant tolookat thecombinationofahigh-qualityproduct and the trainedapplication."(Photograph:CuradenAG) Interview: “The future of dentistry is digital and focused on prevention” ByMarcChalupsky,DTI Swiss dental company Curaden is one of the few businesses in the in- dustrythatadoptaholisticapproach todentistry.Thecompanycombines high-quality dental products, pio- neeringtrainingsystemsandproph- ylaxis concepts for long-term oral health. In this interview, CEO Ueli Breitschmid talks about new ways and knowledge in dentistry and op- timal preventive care as key to good oralhealth. Dental Tribune: Mr Breitschmid, Curaden aims to offer more than just dental care products. You advocate comprehensive training in the field of dental prevention.Why is this issue so important? Ueli Breitschmid: Curaden is the only company that, in addition to manufacturing products, provides patients with the necessary knowl- edge and skills, in cooperation with trained instructors, to take control of their oral health themselves. We have developed our knowledge and products with the aim of teeth re- maining healthy for a lifetime. Our corporate philosophy combines the innovativeCURAPROXproducts,our dental educational system iTOP and the practical Prevention-One plan. Our goal is to reduce the prevalence of gingivitis, periodontitis and tooth loss. Therefore, we support compre- hensive soft-tissue prophylaxis. Fi- nally, gingival problems are still the most common cause of poor oral health. We support prophylaxis to this end with our great interdental toothbrushes, our iTOP seminars andotherservices. In any oral health discussion, it is al- waysimportanttolookatthecombi- nation of a high-quality product and the trained application thereof. The productalonewithoutatraineduser changes little or nothing. Therefore, 80 per cent of people in developed countries have gingival diseases; be- causenobodyhasshownthemprop- er oral hygiene. Only a well-trained person can motivate and instruct someoneelse. How can control and continued moti- vationbeachieved? Patients and dentists should follow a regular schedule concerning both treatment and training. Today’s ap- proach of one or two dental visits annually is no longer appropriate. Going to the dentist or the dental hygienist should not be an annual event, but more frequent. Just think how often we enjoy a beauty treat- ment or a pleasant massage. White and well-kept teeth are part of the modern concept of body awareness, muchlikeatriptothefitnesscentre. A world famous example of achiev- ing control and continued motiva- tion is Martina Hingis. Hingis, who was once tennis’s youngest-ever number one champion, is our new global ambassador promoting a new levelinoralhealthcare.Overthenext threeyears,the35-year-oldSwisswill be making some major appearances for our brands. And I would also like to mention KU64, one of the largest dental practices in Germany. Over 20 motivated dentists are working seven days a week and use the latest CURAPROX products. Besides that, KU64 offers massage therapy, mani- cure and pedicure and much more. This is the modern concept of body awareness. So, does this mean that most oral health problems can be solved throughregularprophylaxis? Dental prophylaxis is only one as- pect of oral health. It seems much more important to consider dental training. For years, leading dentists and dental companies have been in favour of a change in dental edu- cation. Preventive dental therapy should hold at least the same posi- tion as restorative dentistry. Every dentist knows how little is taught in dental schools about prevention. Therearelong-establishedandfinan- cially attractive prevention concepts for the entire office staff, including Prevention-One. Today’s digital so- lutions offer a painless and quick prophylactic therapy. The future of dentistry is digital and focused on prevention,andthedentistofthefu- ture as a preventive physician is re- sponsibleforpatients’overallhealth. So you envision dentists and doctors workingmoreclosely? Dentistry and medicine will certain- ly continue to move closer together, as the interaction between the oral tissueandotherorgansisnowbetter understood. Slowly but surely, den- tists will be recognised for their role in medicine. They are the gatekeep- ersofhealth,becausethemouthrep- resentsthebasisofalmostallchronic diseases. In time, dentists will meas- ure blood pressure and take saliva samples or blood samples. It will become possible to decrease the prevalence of chronic diseases, in- cluding cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, through better oral health. At the same time, medicine of the future will be able to detect signs of gingivi- tisorperiodontitis. Mr Breitschmid, you focus on holistic oralhealthpreventionratherthanres- toration.WhatconceptsdoesCuraden offerinthisregard? Wefocusonoptimalprophylaxisfor patients and dental professionals. Individually trained oral prevention (iTOP) is our internationally well- known educational system. For this purpose, we have been working to- getherwithestablisheddentistDrJiri Sedelmayer. He has revolutionised the approach to teaching, motiva- tionandcontrolofindividualproph- ylaxis for long-term dental health. Thisapproachincludesregulartrain- ing, the proper tools and a good dose of motivation. First, we begin with the dental professionals, who pass their new knowledge and skills di- rectly to patients. All our iTOP semi- nars are supervised by independent dentists and dental hygienists who have completed the training them- selves. iTOP addresses one of the major is- sues in every dental practice: how to motivate and instruct patients to brushperfectly,withgoodoutcomes. Through iTOP, we offer individual training with regular monitoring and correction of the learnt prophy- laxis techniques. We use the latest technologies and modern cleaning techniques; in short, the right me- chanical plaque control. Of course, the seminars are open to those den- tal staff with years of experience too. There are always new ways to brush teethandgapsproperly. HowlongistheiTOPprogramme? The iTOP programme is structured consecutively. We offer multi-day seminars for both beginners and advanced participants, as well as for prospective iTOP trainers. Our recall seminars enhance knowledge and provide additional motivation. iTOP also teaches communication strate- gies. Communication with the pa- tientandwithintheteamtooarekey todentalhealth.Afurtheradvantage of iTOP is the global coverage of our educationalprogramme.Whetherin Europe, Asia or North America, den- tal staff can benefit from the com- prehensive solutions of our iTOP training. I would like to recommend our iTOP workshopon23JuneinBaselinSwit- zerland to all dental hygienists. This isbeingheldaspartofthe2016Inter- national Symposium on Dental Hy- giene. We have invited top speakers from Ireland, South Africa, Canada and Switzerland to talk about their experiences with iTOP in their re- spective fields and how it has helped them to achieve sustainable oral healthintheirpatients. WithiTOPforstudents,Curadenistar- geting students and young dentists. Why does Curaden place so much importance on the early training of students? First,studentsshouldmaintaintheir teeth for perfect oral health; only then can they treat their patients. The dentist and patient should al- ways have the regular care of their own teeth with good toothbrushes, toothpaste and interdental brushes in common. This allows the aspiring dentist to become familiar with how the damage to be repaired arose. Early on, we convey the principle of touch to teach—the proof is in the pudding. How can dental professionals better apply your iTOP concept for the ben- efit ofthepatient andpractice? Weofferthemafinanciallyattractive service package for the long-term dental health of their patients, called Prevention-One. Prevention-One is our innovative treatment approach to prophylaxis services. The plan in- cludes regular dental cleaning and dental procedures, as well as our CURAPROX products. We believe strongly that Prevention-One repre- sentsthefutureofdentistry. No matter the product, whether Prevention-One or CURAPROX, we strive to be accessible to patients. In 2015, we founded the first Curaden clinic, in the heart of London. The practice offers top facilities and, of course,alltheproductsandconcepts ofCuraden. Thank you very much for the inter- view. an interview with ueli Breitschmid, CEo of Curaden “Ourgoalistoreduce theprevalenceof gingivitis,periodontitis andtoothloss.”