Abstract
Good oral hygiene has always been the cornerstone of public and private dental health promotion. However, this has often been based upon incorrect assumptions. The public is not always willing and does not always need to change its oral health behavior to the same extent as that expected by the dental profession. The present commentary emphasizes the need to modify oral hygiene instruction according to specific risk and motivation levels. Dentistry needs to be flexible in accepting new evidence-based modalities of oral health promotion. Dentists, dental hygienists and the entire health care team need to accept that the traditional methods of oral health education are not always effective.
Highlights
The single most continuous theme of preventive and public health dentistry has been and remains the cleaning of teeth [1]
Preventive dentistry has correctly assumed that most oral diseases are preventable and effective methods have been revealed
Preventive dentistry has incorrectly assumed that: knowledge and information promote health; patients more often than not want to change their behaviors; patients more often than not need to change their behavior; patients believe that oral health is of the utmost importance; patients are motivated to do what we tell them; health promotion demands the modification of all health behaviors
Summary
The single most continuous theme of preventive and public health dentistry has been and remains the cleaning of teeth [1]. In the present commentary "clean teeth" will be equated to good oral hygiene and/or low dental plaque levels. If we accept that cleaning teeth is an imperative public oral health requirement, we need to explore the ways and means of achieving this goal.
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