Excellent oral hygiene is the foremost factor in combating the public’s mouth and gum disease problems, with dental education programs playing a pivotal role in developing awareness for maintaining regular cleaning regimes. That said it is the dental professionals role to establish a suitable treatment plan according to the patients requirements, as education alone cannot change existing dental behavioural patterns.
A sustained oral health program requires compliance from patients in the first instance. So how do you ensure your patients sustain their brushing, flossing and mouthwash techniques once you have carried out your cleaning routine at chairside?
Aftercare tools
The actual process of cleaning the mouth is not an exciting prospect for patients and therefore motivating them to do so is the most difficult task for every dental professional. However, the rewards for patients of taking the time to clean this area can lead to long term benefits. Aiding the patient by providing them with a choice of cleaning equipment can help alleviate the problems of compliance. Ease of use is one of the primary factors in achieving these aims. When a patient feels empowered, they are more able to carry out their own self-styled treatment programs.
Let’s take a typical example: Your patient has just received a six monthly hygiene check-up. Apart from the normal problems of calculus build-up, the hygienist is concerned about the way in which the patient is cleaning their mouth. Upon further examination, the hygienist notices the hard to reach areas at the back of the mouth are the worst affected.
By asking what type of products your patient has been using, the answers reveal why the patient may have been experiencing problems or otherwise not enjoyed the experience enough to gain maximum impact from their cleaning regime. This patient is obviously finding the products they’re using are not comfortable and therefore the hard to reach interdental spaces at the back of the mouth have been left untouched.
From a professional’s perspective, the immediate problem associated with this patient is the fact they have not followed the cleaning instructions available. Naturally this may be true in certain cases, but on reflection, the patient may not have been able to use the products concerned due to the fact they may not have been compatible.
Patient enjoyment
Choosing the correct oral health products for your patients can be a daunting task. With so many interdental brushes, flossing and tooth cleaning equipment on the market, it is particularly important to select the right types of products depending on age, condition of the teeth and aptitude of the patient. Extensive dental research by the profession has always highlighted the need to motivate patients by making their dental experience as comfortable as possible, but needless to say, it is what happens after the patient has left that is often forgotten about.
Making sure your patients are enjoying their cleaning routine once they have left your practice is the most important aspect of the entire process. If patients leave with products they find uncomfortable to use or don’t feel any empathy towards; then the result will be de-motivated patients. Colour, feel, size, flexibility, effectiveness and above all, comfort, are the key considerations in motivating patients to use the products you offer them.
Introducing patients to products that look and feel good, are comfortable and easy to use, whilst cleaning quickly and efficiently (even in hard to reach areas) ultimately means a happier patient, which results in more dedicated cleaning patterns and easier check-ups for all dental professionals. Practices that purchase inderdental cleaning brushes will be aware just how difficult it is to actually identify the right size of brush for the patient concerned.
Marketplace
There are various types of ergonomic, latex-free brushes and wax coated floss products that cater for an entire generation of age groups: from early years through to late retirement. Prior to purchasing your next set of interdental tools, think carefully about the products your patients would want to use.
Clinically speaking, you must make the choice about the product that you think will do the best job; but do remember your patients may not necessarily comply with your immediate choice. Gaining sustained compliance from patients’ means choosing a variation of products that work best for each individual requirement. Most Tandex products tend to be conveniently packaged in transparent and secure click-box plastic containers, making it easy for your patients and dental team to find exactly what they are looking for when selecting their interdental cleaning products.
For Information and for a free Flexi pack sample call 07788 918 174, email uk@tandex.dk or visit www.tandex.dk