Dentistry in Russia: Recent History and Perspectives

What is it about?

This review analyzes development of dentistry in Russia since the 1970s with special reference to dental caries. In this connection, minimally invasive dentistry is discussed. The latter concept is applicable also to periodontal conditions. The necessity and possibility to spare dental tissues have been undervalued in Russia. The motto of the Soviet healthcare was the priority of prophylaxis, implemented by regular medical checkups (so-called dispensarizations) at schools, factories and institutions. Among drawbacks were paternalistic attitude to patients and insufficient quality control. Initial and sometimes questionable carious lesions found at dispensarizations were treated by dry cutting, often with dull rotary instruments, which led to excessive removal of dental tissues. The consent for the treatment was not sought, especially from children, adolescents or their caregivers. Together with the variable quality of filling materials, this resulted in an early start and acceleration of the restoration cycle. The mass examinations have been largely abandoned in the 1990s; but the extensive privatization of dentistry created new problems, discussed in this review.

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