Medical Management of Caries: Demystifying the Use of SDF and Glass Ionomer

John Frachella, DMD is a pediatric dentist in Oregon and Maine with 50 years experience in the delivery of dental services in public and private settings. For the first 32 years of his career he was the dental director of a free clinic for indigent children in Bangor, Maine and for ten years served as the director of federal clinics in Wheeler County, Oregon. He's worked in private practices across the country and for a decade was on staff at OHSU (Oregon Health Sciences University) Dental School. He lectures at NYU (New York University) Langone for the largest dental residency program in the US.

Dr. Frachella is a national leader in the use of Silver Diamine Fluoride and Glass-Ionomer Cement for the medical management of caries (tooth decay) and in the use of SDF and GIC to help favorably impact widespread dental public health programs, medical practices within community clinics, public schools and clinical practices. He presents new options in the management of caries lesions, especially in certain instances and populations. Over the past decade, Dr. Frachella has been using silver solutions in combination with glass-ionomer technology to a-traumatically arrest caries while simultaneously addressing destructive dental cavitation (called Silver Modified Atraumatic Restorative Technique or SMART). He sees the minimally invasive medical management of caries as a new, historically proven, highly preventive standard of care for the treatment of world-wide populations of children and special needs adults who desperately need dental services the most.