Description
Reaponse to this post with one paragraph Relating to my patient’s dietary habits, when we reviewed the 24-hour dietary log and questionnaire, I noticed that she does not snack frequently through the day. She mostly consumes water and herbal tea with zero sugar added. Most of her diet does come from the grain category, which is a contributing factor for caries. The carbohydrates are broken down as sugar and attach to the teeth in the form of biofilm which produce an acidic environment in the mouth (Benahmed Gasmi et al., 2021). The continuous exposure to sugar in the mouth keeps the mouth in an acidic state and the biofilm that is attached to the teeth start to demineralize the enamel of the teeth promoting caries (Benahmed Gasmi et al., 2021). A major contributing factor for my patient’s high caries risk is xerostomia, she states she does not notice her “mouth being dry”. There is clinical evidence of xerostomia. She has more biofilm accumulation especially along her posterior molars, during the implementation phase I could see minimal flow of saliva, as well as all her medication have dry mouth as a side effect. Saliva protein assist in maintaining the oral flora and prevention of enamel demineralization, through the process of neutralizing the mouth’s PH and removing food, bacteria and sugar (Benahmed Gasmi et al., 2021). With the reduction of saliva, the occurrence of oral disease and caries increase (Benahmed Gasmi et al., 2021). Based on my patient’s age, weight, height and activity level we reviewed the myplate.gov recommendations for 2000 calories a day recommendation (2000-Calories-Ages-14-plus-Years.Pdf, n.d.); due to the xerostomia I did recommend my patient to drink more water throughout the day.The preventative service that I will also recommend is a 5% sodium fluoride varnish to be applied every six months to assist with caries control and prevention (Weyant et al., 2013). I will also recommend a prescription strength 0.05% fluoride toothpaste to use at home (Weyant et al., 2013). An antimicrobial rinse, Vega StellaLife post periodontal therapy will also assist in the healing and reduction of biofilm (Fujioka-Kobayashi et al., 2020). as well as a Biotene rinse to assist with stimulating salivary flow due to her xerostomia (Barbe et al., 2018). An electric toothbrush, flossing and Waterpik are other recommendations that will effectively assist in the removal of biofilm and gingival inflammation reduction (Mancinelli-Lyle et al., 2023).In the video I noticed I was providing a lot of information to my patient in such a short span of time. I had a very limited time to record this video and I tried my best to get all the important information in this short clip. When the camera was not rolling I had more of a conversation with my patient and was able to answer any questions she had. We had more time talking about the nutrition log and her dietary habits. Watching the video back I can see that the information provided is a lot and maybe overwhelming to a patient. I do like to break OHI into attainable steps for my patients, so they are successful in achieving their oral health goals.
