Preventive care - Ozone

Ozone has been used in medicine for many years due to its ability to kill bacteria and viruses. Simply the dental decay process involves the tooth; the bacteria that cause decay, and the sugar that the bacteria feed releasing the acid that makes the tooth go soft i.e. produce tooth decay.

A good tooth-brushing regime, and low incidence of sugar intake help avoid decay process. The use of fluoride in toothpaste and rinses help strengthen the tooth. Sometimes, the decay process can be reversed by improved oral hygiene alone, but it is difficult to measure. However it is now possible to measure decay activity with a Diagnodent.

Once the decay process is established, bacteria can’t be removed by tooth brushing as they become established within the tooth. Generally the decay becomes more established and eventually the bacteria are removed by a filling that requires an injection.

Applying Ozone will kill the bacteria in the lesion. Then the decay process can be stopped.

Ozone gas is applied by the Healozone unit. Firstly the tooth surface is thoroughly cleaned. A silicone cup is placed over the tooth, and a seal is produced with a vacuum pump. Ozone can only be applied when there is an adequate seal, and applied for an appropriate length of time (20-60 secs).

A decision to whether any further treatment is required is dependant on each individual case. More often in a sealant restoration can be placed immediately after Ozone therapy, and this will prevent any bacteria entering the site where the decay process existed. More importantly, it is unlikely that any active bacteria will exist under the sealant if Ozone has been applied. Alternatively, the tooth may then be left and monitored using the Diagnodent along with further fluoride advice, or tooth mouse. On larger lesions some minimal tooth removal is required without the necessity of an anaesthetic in order to apply the Ozone to an adequate depth in the lesion. Then it may have a sealant restoration, or if its a larger lesion it may have a high fluoride releasing semi permanent restoration (Fuji 7) which may require replacement at a later date when generally the child will be more cooperative and its easier to keep the restoration dry.

Ozone treatment is relatively new to dentistry as its obvious difficulty in application of the gas solely onto the diseased tooth surface only. For that reason there are an expanding use of applications, but there are few long-term research papers on the product to date.