Caries Management
by Risk Assessment

A paradigm shift in dental practice occurred nearly 10 years ago, when the CDA Foundation, in partnership with the UCSF School of Dentistry, published evidence in the Journal of the California Dental Association that caries could be prevented and managed through risk assessment.

The next few years were spent educating dentists on the findings. The Foundation hosted forums and workshops at CDA Presents and made plans to engage decision-makers in health policy and financing to embrace and support this disease management model.

To expand on those efforts, the Foundation entered into a multiyear collaboration with the UCSF School of Dentistry to replicate the results of university-based clinical studies in dental offices. To accomplish that task, they assembled a Practice-Based Research Network of dentists (PBRN) and community health centers to collect data on changes in risk level and disease status by practicing CAMBRA protocols.

Also, the Foundation hosted a CAMBRA symposium in San Francisco. This comprehensive gathering of stakeholders included researchers, policy advocates and insurers, charged with developing a strategy to guide the CAMBRA movement forward. Proceedings were published in the October and November 2011 issues of the CDA Journal.