Prevention, prevention and prevention

A recent study by Levy et al. presents the dental treatment needs of a large sample of combat soldiers. They found that 80% need some dental care. It is unfortunate that so many, educated, otherwise healthy young adults are in need of dental care and it indicates that more prevention of dental disease is needed. In last years, the Ministry of Health started two projects to prevent dental disease among the very young: In Mother and Child Health Centers and in kindergartens. In a couple of years, these projects will be widely implemented. With the School Dental Service, these two projects will cover all ages from birth to 18. In the future, with these programs implemented, soldiers should need less dental treatment.