PreviDent® 5000 Is “Lynchpin” of Practitioner’s Prevention Protocol
Compendium features peer-reviewed articles and continuing education opportunities on restorative techniques, clinical insights, and dental innovations, offering essential knowledge for dental professionals.
May 1, 2019
Volume 40, Issue 5, May 2019
Page(s): p. 318
As a practitioner of general dentistry for the past four decades, Susan Calderbank, DMD, knows the importance of caries prevention and management. At her western Pennsylvania practice she works closely with many geriatric patients, as well as those who have experienced cancer treatment, two populations that are more susceptible to caries, and she is always searching for better ways to help prevent this common disease. As a result, she relies on Colgate® PreviDent® 5000 Prescription Strength Toothpaste to help manage her patients.
"I first began using PreviDent 5000 at the recommendation of my Colgate representative," Calderbank attests. "After pre-scribing it to my patients, I began to see a significant decrease in cervical and root decay, especially in my geriatric patients." She says that she now readily prescribes PreviDent 5000 to all of the adult patients in her practice. "Most of my patients are actively following our prevention protocol, and therefore routinely go for years without any decay. PreviDent 5000 is the lynchpin of this protocol."
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According to the manufacturer, PreviDent 5000 works differently from traditional prescription paste-form dentifrices in that the formula allows for faster fluoride dispersion. Fluoride helps to remineralize enamel while making teeth less susceptible to acids that cause decay. Additionally, the fluoride delivery system produces a temporary shift in pH, resulting in improved fluoride uptake.
"PreviDent 5000 is exceptionally well-tolerated by patients and particularly helpful in a mouth where the environment has become acidic," Calderbank offers. Colgate suggests that PreviDent 5000 is ideal for patients with high caries risk, crown-and-bridge work, and orthodontic decalcification. Additional risk factors for tooth decay may include receding gumlines, periodontal treatments, acid erosion, and dry mouth.
Calderbank explains that because patients are already brushing their teeth daily, the use of PreviDent 5000 requires minimal change to their routine. "Using this product before bed simply becomes a part of their nighttime ritual," she explains. "Because it is a prescription toothpaste, it has more clinical weight with patients, and they therefore are more likely to use it," she observes.
In her experience, Calderbank has noticed that long-term use of PreviDent 5000 results in stronger teeth, as well as the retardation of cervical and root caries. "As patients age and their manual dexterity begins to decline," she says, "PreviDent 5000 works to help teeth survive."
She also anticipates that the new PreviDent Ortho Defense will be a "wonderful" product for her orthodontic patients, as many of them, she claims, do not take proper care of their teeth as they should.
Calderbank adds that Colgate offers nu-merous educational resources for clinicians, including multiple brochures and literature available for all of its products. Her favorite aspect of Colgate, she says, is how attentive its representatives are when dealing with questions from both practitioners and patients. "Colgate always gets back to me right away with an answer, and they always provide clinical data to back up the information." She notes, too, that she gives patients who are prescribed PreviDent 5000 a printed list of instructions.
"New technologies and products could eventually make dental disease a thing of the past," Calderbank exclaims. In the meantime she has seen the benefits of PreviDent 5000 firsthand, and, she adds, "I would not practice without it."
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