Hello dear colleagues, if I can call you this way. I have recently graduated from dental school, and now I’m doing an internship at one clinic. During this time, I have noticed that some patients completely ignore their dental health. Please note that I’m not talking about visiting a dentist at least 2 times per year. I’m talking about some basic and most common hygiene rules, such as brushing teeth every morning and before bedtime. I think this situation is worth some attention.

During my practice, which is not long enough, I have noticed that patients usually come when they have sharp tooth pain. In the meantime, they completely ignore some other problems that lead to this pain, such as tooth decay and enamel problems. Besides, when I talk to those patients, they confess that they ignore some basic dental hygiene rules. When I try to explain to them that the sharp tooth pain is the consequence of not taking care of teeth, they stare at me like I’m insane and say some nonsense.

Also, I don’t get why people in the UK (where I have my internship) don’t care about their dental health. In the USA, the situation is entirely different. People are ready to apply for a loan to have a beautiful smile. While, in the UK, there are so many other gadgets available. For instance, I’ve recently found out about this new flossing gadget. It takes approximately 10 seconds to floss teeth, and it’s much easier than using regular floss thread.

Is there any approach that can explain to patients how important it is to follow specific hygienic rules to avoid problems like that? I think that posters in the place where I work are not motivational enough. When I try to explain something, it seems like I’m talking to a brick wall. Maybe there are some methods to bring this information to people? Because I simply can’t ignore this problem.