CAMBRA
We want all of our patients to have the opportunity to live a cavity free life and we use the CAMBRA program to help our patients achieve this. CAMBRA stands for CAries Management By Risk Assessment. This means that we will not only diagnose and treat your cavities, but we will determine the underlying cause of your cavities and make recommendations so you can prevent cavities in the future!
Why do we use CAMBRA in our practice?
Quite simply, we want the best for our patients. In order to provide the best restorative dental care, we must provide the best preventative care. If a patient is prone to getting cavities and we do nothing to address the underlying cause … not only will they continue to get cavities but they will also be more likely to have failures of expensive dental work.
For patients that are persistently struggling with cavities, we may recommend some of following steps to better treat you:
How does CAMBRA work?
- QUESTIONS: We may ask you additional questions about your diet and lifestyle or we may have you fill out a short questionnaire
- SWAB OF YOUR TEETH: We may perform a quick and painless swab of your teeth. Our office uses the Cariscreen meter to check the levels of bacteria in your mouth. This one-minute test uses bioluminescence (without any discomfort to you) to identify levels of bacteria that could contribute to tooth decay.
- DETERMINE YOUR RISK: The doctor will take the above information as well as any findings from your exam and xrays to determine your risk level for getting future cavities. This will allow us as to make recommendations on how to lower your risks.
Our Recommendations
We will put our exam findings together with your answers to the questionnaire and your swab score to determine your risk level for getting future cavities. This will allow us as to make recommendations on how to lower your risks. Sometimes our recommendations make include prescription strength or professional strength products.Other recommendations may be targeted at diet or types of foods that you eat. These recommendations will be tailored specifically for you!
Products We Recommend
Prescription Strength Fluoride Toothpaste – A toothpaste that contains more fluoride that an over the counter toothpaste may be the first step in preventing cavities in those patients that have high risk factors for tooth decay. There are many prescription strength toothpaste on the market. Our office has Elevate Just Right 5000 available for purchase.
CariFreeTreatment Rinse – is a professional anti-microbial rinse that is available for purchase through CariFree.com. This rinse may be recommended if the Cariscreen meter indicates a higher level of bacteria in your mouth as an increase in bacteria can lead to an increased risk for getting cavities.
