What is prevention?
Prevention is the sum of outreach efforts to ensure healthy, safe, and productive lives for all Americans. As applied to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD), prevention means keeping the many problems related to the use and abuse of these substances from occurring. Successful ATOD problem prevention means that underage youth, pregnant women, and others at high risk do not use alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs. They do no cause harm to themselves and to those around them. Prevention reduces the risk of danger and fosters a safe environment. Successful prevention leads to reductions on traffic fatalities, violence, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), rape, teen pregnancy, child abuse, cancer and heart disease, injuries and trauma, and other problems associated with substance abuse. Thanks to prevention, our children stay in school. Our workers stay on the job. Prevention works! Let’s make prevention work for everyone!
Dental prevention is action taken so that dental diseases do not start. Thorough tooth brushing teeth three times a day for about three minutes each time is the primary vital action targeting elements of microbial dental diseases. Flossing once a day additionally constitutes good at-home participation. More ideal prevention includes professional cleanings by a dental hygienist twice a year. Oral bacterial diseases are progressive and cumulative and become more complex over time. Therefore, prevention also is action taken to minimize disease in progress. Brushing and flossing are still essential but a dentist will need to diagnose and treat existing conditions. An example of this is the eradication of a small area of decay before the decay becomes extensive. A third level of prevention is early treatment undertaken to intercept incipient disease. An example is interceptive orthodontics, which is undertaken before adult teeth have erupted. Another example is the treatment of the cause of
