“The doctor of the future will give no medication, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and prevention of disease” -Thomas Edison
This quote is as powerful and at the same time counter-cultural today as it was 100 years ago. It is a challenge to health care providers as well as a recipe for true prevention of disease. In dentistry, “prevention” is mostly limited to the recommendation of specific processes or products that are known to limit the progression of disease. When used properly, these tools can indeed limit disease. But, by themselves, they are limited in their ability to do so. True prevention is a choice. True prevention comes from understanding how our body is supposed to work, what it needs to function optimally, and what causes it to break down.
As Thomas Edison stated, my job is to “interest” you in this path for dental health. To do so, I must help you to achieve two things. First, you must attain a complete understanding about the current condition of your teeth, mouth, and chewing system. By complete, I mean not just the physical condition, but also the role of your past dental experiences and how these have served to shape your feelings, attitudes, and ideas toward your mouth and dentistry in general. A complete understanding also entails, not just where you have been but also where your current path is leading you.
Secondly, I must teach you what a healthy mouth and chewing system look like and how health maintains itself over time and resists the occurrence of disease. Our staff has made a commitment to study what makes the healthiest mouth healthy. We believe that this information will be more valuable to our patients than simply studying how to clean and fix damaged teeth.
For many people their current condition is not what they thought it was, and/or the direction they are headed is not where they want to go. With the understanding of what health is and can provide, an individual is able to make a choice in full awareness. That choice is either to remain on the path that they are on, or to move toward health. A real choice creates real commitment and is a driving force to help an individual create the healthy state that they desire.
True prevention is the commitment to create health in your life. Like anything that we wish to create, it depends upon a complete understanding of our current reality and a clear picture of what we are trying to create. When one makes this commitment, each moment becomes a choice that will either move us closer to health or towards disease. These choices include what we eat, how we use our mouths, what products and techniques we use to care for our teeth, and what dental treatment we elect to pursue.
This is what our New Direction Program is all about. We put the knowledge and power in your hands so that you may make your own choices according to your own values and goals. I always tell people that it will never be my goal to sell you dental treatment that you do not want or do not need. Instead, we will assist those that are sick of living with recurring dental problems move away from this disease cycle and create health in their lives.