Computer program useful tool in dental care


Gunnel Hänsel Petersson at Malmö University in Sweden has received an
award for her studies of Cariogram, a computer program created in
Malmö to assess patients’ risk of developing tooth decay, dental
caries.

The program was constructed in 1997 by Professor Douglas Bratthall at
the Faculty of Odontology at Malmö University College in Sweden. Today
it has been translated into twelve languages and is attracting ever
greater interest in other countries. Gunnel Hänsel Petersson’s study
is the first evaluation of the program. “Caries occurs in a
complicated interaction involving various factors built into the
Cariogram Program. The program makes it easier for dentists to
initiate the proper treatment to prevent caries,” explains Gunnel
Hänsel Petersson.

There are a total of some ten risk factors whose respective importance
is weighted in relation to each other: the number of earlier dental
cavities, use of fluoride, the buffering capacity of the saliva,
medicines, the number of bacteria in the mouth, diet, etc. The
information is fed into the computer, and the program calculates the
risk of caries. The patient’s risk profile is presented graphically in
the form of a circle where sections of varying color and size
represent the risk factors­-the greater the green area, the greater
the chance of avoiding caries.

The Malmö researcher’s study is based on 600 individuals who had been
placed in various risk groups following the original examination. At
follow-ups two and five years later it was shown that the distribution
reflected the actual outcome. More than 90 percent of those with the
highest risk, for instance, had developed new cavities. “Cariogram is
thus a useful tool in estimating the risk of children and older adults
developing dental caries. But dentists are advised not to place blind
faith in the computer program; they should rather use it as a
complement to their clinical assessment,” says Gunnel Hänsel
Petersson.

The idea is that it should be possible to use Cariogram around the
world. It can be downloaded for free from the Internet in Russian,
German, Thai, Portuguese, French, English, etc.

The prize of SEK 30,000 from the Patent Money Fund for prophylactic
research in dentistry is one of the largest for odontological research
in Sweden.

   
More information: www.mah.se/templates/ExternalNews____15998.aspx 
www.mah.se

 


 
       





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28.02.2005 | Örjan Bergh | Source: alphagalileo | CMS by NETZGUT