The future fight against tooth decay

Michael Sultan looks at the challenges ahead.

Much like many professionals, I always find one of the most satisfying aspects of working in dentistry to be that it’s an industry full of innovation. Rarely a month goes by without some exciting new development, and as technology continues to improve and research unearths new facts, it’s fascinating to see how these will shape the profession going forward.

For example, I recently came across an article about atomic imaging and how this has allowed professionals to view tooth decay in a whole new light.

Despite predictions from when I qualified, tooth decay remains a huge problem for individuals in the UK. Over half of all adults in the UK population have tooth decay or damaged teeth, while nearly three quarters of those aged eight to 15 have some decay present as well. Even the more positive estimates about the amount of tooth decay still state that almost one in three UK individuals suffer, meaning that it remains one of the top challenges we face as professionals. Decay is something that we can hopefully overcome in the future, especially with innovations such as atomic imaging.