Prof. Mario Giorgi from Brazil: “Being a professional focused on oral health promotion, I want my patients to be co-promoters.”

According to Prof. Mario Giorgi from Brazil, dental professionals should always involve patients in the teaching of oral hygiene so they really understand what they need to do at home. Meet the dentist with more than 30 years of experience as both a dental practitioner and academic, and learn what he expects from his patients – or as he calls them, oral health co-promoters.

What’s the most essential thing for proper oral care routine of patients?

In the clinic, I observe that patients have a lack of immediate loyalty to oral hygiene. I think that oral care guidelines are usually provided by professionals in an illustrative way. Patients are often not given a proper oral care education and so don’t fully understand what they should do at home. The patient can’t do things properly when he or she doesn’t understand the right techniques and their importance.

What does the word prevention mean to you?

For me it is basically the act of anticipating the consequences of a wrong action, and making an effort to take the necessary measures to ensure that those negative consequences do not occur.

What is your “golden rule” or advice that you usually give to your patients?

Being a professional focused on oral health promotion, I want my patients to be co-promoters. I expect my patients to be aware of their own oral health, to always try to identify important changes, and to schedule an early appointment in the dental office for an evaluation and treatment plan.

What is the biggest challenge of your work?

From an overall perspective the entire process of evaluating an individual who has an oral disease, treating the person, and subsequently treating the disease itself can be very challenging. But actually our biggest challenge is to keep patients participating – to keep them motivated and loyal to the guidelines and advice we have given them.

What do you like most about your job?

There are a couple of things. I really like providing patients with oral care tips that really work, and making them see the value of proper oral hygiene. And I am keen on developing differentiated treatment plans for patients, which include the use of different oral hygiene instruments. In both the medium and long term this is really beneficial for patients and the prevention of various oral health problems.

What is the most important thing in terms of oral health from your point of view?

Loyalty and partnership between the dentist and patient – without these two pillars it will not be possible to implement an oral hygiene routine.

What is the biggest oral health myth you fight against?

People think that brushing their teeth without a proper technique, is enough to maintain oral health. I really appreciate Touch to Teach (hands-on training) because it’s only with the effective participation of the patient that we are able to teach the right techniques and instigate a prevention plan.

Prof. Mario Sergio Giorgi graduated in Dentistry from Universidade São Francisco in 1981. Since his graduation, Prof. Giorgi has been working in a private practice and as an academic training new dental professionals. He is a specialist and researcher in restorative dentistry and homeopathy. He has a master’s degree in health sciences, and teaches classes in postgraduate and improvement courses. He is a member of the CROSP Dental Technical Chamber, and a director and teacher at the Alpha Teaching Center. Besides this, he is also an iTOP teacher in Brazil. For more interesting updates, you can follow him on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter orLinkedIn.