Patients should never underestimate regular check-ups, avoiding unhealthy food and good oral hygiene on a daily basis.
Dental surgeon Dr. Jefferson Custodio says that he truly loves smiles and tells his patients to smile always. In this short interview we introduce the Brazilian iTOP-trained dentist, his opinions on oral care routines and the ways in which he takes care of his patients’ smiles.
What routines do you find most critical for maintaining proper oral health?
Regular oral health check-ups with a professional, avoiding unhealthy food and performing good oral hygiene on a daily basis.
What does the word prevention mean to you?
Prevention means adopting the measures for oral health care that must be taken to avoid the onset of diseases or inhibit aggravation of congenital or degenerative diseases.
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What is your golden rule or the advice that you tell your patients most often?
I love smiles. In Brazil there is a song that says: “It’s better to be joyful than sad.” – so when it comes to a choice between crying or smiling my advice is: whatever happens, always smile.
What’s the biggest challenge of your job?
Sparking the motivation inside people to believe in the value and true potential of their smile. I seek excellence in everything I do, but we dentists need patients to care about their own oral health too.
What’s the thing that you like about your job the most?
Educating people about oral care and helping them to have a healthy smile, which brings happiness. I consider that happiness is the real success of the soul.
What’s the most important thing in terms of an oral care routine, from your point of view?
Brushing one’s teeth in an adequate and effective way every day, combined with an understanding and awareness of the importance of healthy food habits in relation to oral health.
What’s the biggest oral health myth that you need to explain often?
I’m trying to help people to understand that simply brushing your teeth twice a day is not enough to ensure good oral health. I want them to understand that brushing must be carried out in the suitable way for each individual case. This is the philosophy of individually trained oral prophylaxis (iTOP) created by Prof. Jiří Sedelmayer.
Dr. Jefferson Custódio de Souza is a dentist based in the city of Limeira in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. He studied dentistry at FHO Uniararas in Brazil, traumatology and orthopedics at Facultad de Odontología at University of Buenos Aires in Argentina. He also attended a post-graduate course at ISEO (Institute of dental studies and services) in São Carlos, Brazil. He specialises in dental surgery, has taken part in iTOP advanced seminars and also provides speaker trainings. If you would like to know more about his work, you can follow him on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.
