Protecting Your Smile

High-Tech Diagnosis: CAMBRA

CAMBRA Dental Diagonsis
Every patient is unique. Some have aggressive bacteria that make them more prone to dental decay, for example, while others do not. So why are patients treated alike—following the same cleaning schedule and getting the same type of prevention therapy?

Here’s a better approach: Determine which patients are more at risk, and help them with more proactive preventive care.

Based on in-depth research, the tooth decay process can best be understood as an ever-changing balance between destructive and protective factors in your mouth. If the destructive factors outweigh the protective factors, then tooth decay (scientifically known as caries) and will develop. If the situation can be reversed, then caries development can be arrested.

Dr. Snow uses Caries Management by Risk Assessment (CAMBRA), a sophisticated medical model that uses clear, quantitative data—such as salivary flow, bacterial levels, and oral pH—to reveal your risk of developing dental decay.

Based on your specific risk level—low, medium, or high—Dr. Snow can then develop a personalized prevention plan and educate you about steps you can take to prevent cavities. This progressive model ultimately allows him to use more gentle, minimally-invasive procedures to repair the damage of decay or even to resolve the problem by stopping it from developing in the first place.

Did you know … ?
Snow Dental Care is one of just 15 dental offices in the country that was selected by UCSF to participate in a National Institute of Health study to definitively quantify and establish proven protocols for how dentists everywhere can best customize decay prevention for each patient.