Better training of dental practitioners in the field of prevention, as well as increased public awareness and education placing emphasis especially on the establishment of basic measures of oral and gum hygiene in childhood, are considered essential to minimise the growing problem that oral diseases pose.

If 80-85% of the adult population in Spain has gingivitis, 25-40% have periodontitis; 43% have peri-implant mucositis, and 22% peri-implantitis, this may mean the health care and health promotion model needs reviewing. Perhaps the solution lies in improving strategies and preventive measures, complementing the important role of treatment.

A recent European Workshop on Periodontology on prevention of periodontal and peri-implant diseases—held in November 2014 and whose findings were published in the March 2015 issue of the Journal of Clinical Periodontology—highlighted recent evidence on the benefits of primary and secondary prevention of infectious diseases of the gums or tissues around dental implants, and also identifies the most significant trends for the future concerning prevention.

Given the clinical, social and economic impact of diseases of the gums and tissues surrounding dental implants, experts are calling for greater involvement of health authorities and health policy makers. “We have to educate the authorities on how effective periodontal treatment is for general health, and they have to become convinced of the advantages of investment in the prevention of oral diseases” insists Professor of Periodontology Mariano Sanz.

In the same vein, the President of the Spanish Society of Periodontology (SEPA), David Herrera, expressed “the need to end an incongruous situation, that of excluding periodontal problems from the portfolio of public health prevention and care, especially when the consequences of these diseases are proving to have a negative impact on overall health.”