Community Dentistry, Prevention, and Dental Public Health
Core concepts
Understand epidemiology of dental caries and periodontal disease, indices (DMFT/dmft, CPI, plaque and gingival indices), and study designs. Learn levels of prevention (primary, secondary, tertiary), fluoridation (community and topical), sealants, and oral health promotion. Know dental public health planning, needs assessment, and the role of the WHO and national oral health programs. Understand water fluoridation benefits, safety, and the fluoride debate.
Traps
DMFT counts decayed, missing, filled permanent teeth; dmft for primary. CPI uses specific index teeth and scores. Primary prevention occurs before disease; secondary is early detection; tertiary is rehabilitation. Community water fluoridation is the most cost-effective population measure. Questions often confuse incidence (new cases) with prevalence (existing cases). Fluorosis risk relates to total fluoride intake during tooth development.
Worked example
Rule of thumb: "Prevalence = how many have it now; incidence = how many develop it over time." A community with 30% caries prevalence and 5% annual incidence has high burden but moderate new-case rate. For a population strategy, water fluoridation and school sealant programs are first-line. If a stem asks for the best indicator of past caries experience, the answer is DMFT.