Book excerpt: This book focuses on oral health promotion and the impact of systemic disease in the development of oral disease, as well as how to introduce, apply, and communicate prevention to a patient with a defined risk profile. Prevention in Clinical Oral Health Care integrates preventive approaches into clinical practice, and is a valuable tool for all health care professionals to integrate oral health prevention as a component of their overall preventive message to the patient. Discusses risk-based approaches to prevent problems such as caries, periodontal disease, and oral cancer. Topics are written at a level that can be understood by both practicing dental health team members and by dental hygiene and dental students so strategies can be applied to better understand the patient's risk for oral disease and how to prevent future disease. Identifies the barriers, oral health care needs, and preventive strategies for special populations such as children, the elderly, and the physically or mentally disabled. Explores the development of a culturally sensitive dental practice and strategies to make the dental environment more welcoming to individuals with different cultural backgrounds. Discusses how to gather patient information, the synthesis of the patient's data, and the application of the information collected in order to evaluate the patient's risk for disease.