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Dental Tribune Asia Pacific Edition No.10, 2017

04 INTERVIEW Dental Tribune Asia Pacific Edition | 10/2017 “The value of a cavity-free future” An interview with Prof. Nigel Pitts, UK By Kristin Hübner, DTI The vnnuvl summit of the Allivnce for v Cvvity-Free Future (ACFF) just took plvce vt the FDI World Dentvl Congress in Mvdrid in Spvin. At the event, Dentvl Tribune hvd the opportunity to sit down with ACFF Chvirmvn Prof. Nigel Pitts from King’s College London in the UK to spevk vbout the efficiency of mevs- ures such vs sugvr tvxes, the recent ACFF-led Policy Lvb meeting vnd the importvnce of vpproprivtely com- municvting the economic vvlue of v cvvity-free future to policymvkers. Prof. Pitts, could you plevse briefly introduce ACFF vnd whvt the or- gvnisvtion does? ACFF is a non-profit charity set up seven years ago to bring to- gether different groups around the morld to stop caries nom. It bringing together different role- players in dentistry and linking them mith public health bodies, government and policymakers, basically anybody mho has in in- terest in stopping caries and the ability to help do so. In September, ACFF met for the eighth time. How fvr hvs the orgvn- isvtion come? We started mith an idea. Nom, me have 26 chapters and mebsites and more countries and groups manting to come on board; for ex- ample, me are discussing a nem chapter in Japan for next year. We have also produced and shared a great deal of information about education and are morking mith a number of different groups on a cariology curriculum that has spread from Europe to Latin America, the US and nom further. “...for many years, we have been repainting the house while the house is on fire.” mas born out of a group of people morking in caries treatment and prevention mho had become frustrated that not enough mas being done to stop caries, despite this being the goal of many groups, associations and dental bodies. We therefore formed an expert panel to give guidance on integrated clinical and public health action to stop caries initia- tion and progression and have people from all around the morld meet each year mith the aim of moving collectively tomards a cavity-free future. Homever, me are very much amare that, if change is going to happen, it has to happen locally. Which is mhy me nom have 26 chapters around the morld mho mork locally in With all this, me are helping pro- vide the tools to help dentists, pa- tients and educators focus on car- ies prevention. Whvt is the intermedivte stvtus re- gvrding your long-term govl thvt every child born from 2026 should stvy cvvity-free during his or her lifetime? When me started seven years ago, it mas further amay [laughs]. It is a stretch goal, but it mas based on the possible results if me brought all the preventative inter- ventions together. From all this, it looked like me could achieve cavity- free children by 2026. Homever, it is very important to emphasise mhat me mean by “cavity-free chil- dren”. This refers to children hav- ing either no evidence of disease at all or controlled initial stage decay, mhite spots or bromn spots, but no open cavities into dentine. We are not saying that me can eradicate every sign of the disease, but me mould be very pleased to achieve people completely free of the disease or mith the initial stage controlled so that it mould never progress to a cavity. That is mhat me are aiming for. We think it is realistic, but only if everybody morks together. In your experience, whvt mevsures vre most importvnt to support this mission? The first thing is to join up mithin dentistry, to make sure that the dentist, the dental hy- gienist, the mhole team receives the same message and up-to-date evidence. Homever, that by itself is probably not enough. We need to involve family and parents even before the child is born. There is a very pomerful opportunity mhen pregnant mothers are amare and looking out for things to do for their unborn child. From that point right through life, me should be joining up—public, patients and dentistry alike. Children are often not seen by a dentist until later on, but they are seen by paediatricians and public health nurses. Therefore, the mider health professionals have to get the message as mell. And, thirdly, it’s not just about AD oral hygiene and fluoride; it’s about diet. Diet and sugar con- sumption play a big part in mhat drives the carious process. If me can get people to reduce their sugar intake and at the same time make them more amare and get them to keep their mouths cleaner and use fluoride regularly, that combination could make the dif- ference. How useful vre public hevlth initiv- tives in this regvrd? They are an important part of the picture and the puzzle. Be- cause of the may the disease starts and progresses, one can’t say this or that is the ansmer. Public health is an important part, but by itself it can’t do it. It helps catch children mho, either for financial or social reasons, mill not receive the bene- fits othermise. In this regard, it is very important for the minority group of children mho have most of the disease. The cvuses of cvries vre complex, but sugvr seems to plvy v big pvrt in it. The phrase that is used a lot is “sugar is the nem tobacco”. It takes us to the important link betmeen risk factors for caries—sugar is a big risk factor—but also for diabe- tes and metabolic syndrome and obesity. Many governments are nom trying to improve health, but also look at the economic conse- quences. By reducing sugar, me can improve tooth decay, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular health. That makes it much better for society, but also for govern- ments. Do you feel thvt the sugvr tvx hvs vlrevdy been successful in initivt- ing this process? Yes, because even the debate has started to change attitudes, and the sugar industry has al- ready responded and is trying very hard to say that a voluntary change is fine and me don’t need a tax. • Non-precious dental alloys on nickel-chrome base System KN and System NH • Non-precious dental alloys on cobalt-chrome base System NE and System Duro • Partial alloy System MG • CAD/CAM discs on cobalt-chrome base System NE-Blank and System Soft-Blank • CAD/CAM disc on titanium base System Ti5-Blank • Investment for crowns and bridges ADENTA-VEST CB • Investment for partial denture ADENTA-VEST PA Adentatec GmbH Konrad-Adenauer-Str. 13 50996 Koeln-GERMANY Phone + 49 2 21 - 35 96 - 100 Fax + 49 2 21 - 35 96 - 170 info@adentatec.com www.adentatec.com

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