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Principles of PHC
PHC relies on five principles:
1- Equity/ Accessibilitythis means health services
must be available and accessible to all communities
( urban, rural, isolated groups,the poor)
2- Community participation. The community must be
actively involved in all activities as it relates to their own
health.( decision-making, planning, development and
evaluation).
3- Comprehensive care- the approach here must be all
inclusive with promotive, preventive and therapeutic
2. Prevention measures:
Plaque prevention and control. This is done through:
- Individual oral care and professional care.
a) Individual oral care ( POC)This is the first level of intervention in oral care
it involves the procedures performed by the individuals in order to prevent the
accumulation of dental plaque and calculus on the tooth surface. These
procedures includes:
- -tooth brushing,( manual or electrical) , tooth scrubbing ( use of wooden
sticks to clean tooth surface)
- -flossing, mouth rinsing, ( fluoridated rinse / therapeutic rinse)
- -use of interdental devices ( rubber tips, tooth picks, interproximal brushes)
- -irrigation ( special device (syringe with pressurised water to clean interdental
areas)
3.-curative care
This deals with the treatment of dental diseases in order
to restore normal anatomy and function. It includes the
following procedures:
-surgical careextraction
-restorative care- fillings
-prosthetic care- dentures, crowns etc. to replace
missing teeth
-orthodontic care- to correct mal alignment
Periodontal care- bone graft, contouring gingiva etc.