Product Review: How CAMBRA by CariFree can improve caries risk assessment in your practice

A clinician’s view of Caries Management By Risk Assessment, or CAMBRA, by CariFree and how it's benefited his patients and his practice.

Tooth decay is out of control and the dental industry is not okay with that.

That’s why knowing about- and implementing-Caries Management by Risk Assessment (CAMBRA) is critical.  Together, let us learn, deliberate, collaborate and come up with reasonable and helpful ideas and resources on how to take our practice of CAMBRA into the future.

Why does Rodeo Dental practice CAMBRA?

As a group practice that provides comprehensive oral health care to several diverse communities, it is imperative that we help educate our patients in caries prevention as well as how the disease process occurs.

The single most effective tool in conveying this message has been implementing a multifaceted CAMBRA system in our office with the help of CariFree.  

How do you do it?

When a patient arrives in our office, we use age appropriate CRA or Caries Risk Assessment forms. There is a form for patients that are 6 months to 2 years old, another form for those ages 3-5, and a third form for everyone 6 years and up.

The CRA form encompasses several questions such as dietary habits, oral hygiene, genetic predispositions, medications, and environmental factors. The staff will go over this with either the patient or the guardian then review it once again to ensure a thorough assessment has been made.

A CariFree swab is then taken on the lingual of the lower teeth and placed into a CariScreen Susceptibility Testing Meter. After 1 minute a number is shown on the screen that correlates to the amount of ATP bioluminescence, which identifies the oral bacterial load.

There is a direct relation between the bacterial load and risk of decay. Any number more than 1500 is considered high risk. This number is then entered onto the CRA form and a more accurate risk assessment can be made and shared with the patient and/or guardian. 

What do your patients think?

Patients respond positively to this visual information; the CRA form shows the “ATP Number” as well as if your risk is in the “red zone.”

What is the next step in the process?

Once the caries risk has been established we can manage that risk via oral hygiene, dietary counseling, as well as remineralization with products such as CTx.

The patients are given a variety of choices of products such as Xylitots, varnish, and sodium fluoride rinses, and are reassessed at their recalls to see if there is an improvement in lesion size, bacterial load, and overall CR (risk). 

What is the main obstacle?

The one obstacle we have seen is that some patients are hesitant to use the professional products, some prefer they buy an over the counter product and practice more vigilance with their home care.

Patients not complying? Check out this Morning Huddle video from Jameson Management for advice:

How CAMBRA by CariFree can improve caries risk assessment in your practice

A clinician’s view of Caries Management By Risk Assessment, or CAMBRA, by CariFree and how it's benefited his patients and his practice. Written by: Dr. Saam Zarrabi Caries Management By Risk Assessment Date published: 08/07/2013 5 / 5 stars