ABSTRACT
Everybody, or just about everybody, will agree that primary prevention of all kinds of mental health problems is a good idea. Three different levels or meanings of prevention can be described, namely: primary, secondary, and tertiary. The problems involving prevention of mental health problems and needs are quite different. This chapter considers how the various levels of prevention might apply to dental problems or to physical illness. After considering some examples of prevention in other areas, the idea of the different levels of prevention of mental health problems might make more sense. Unfortunately, the typical response to a mental health problem is to let it go until it gets really bad, obvious, intolerable, and difficult to treat or overcome. Denial of a mental health issue is often easy until the possibility of secondary prevention has passed and tertiary prevention is the only real hope. Yet labeling is one of the greatest objections to identifying children with mental health disorders.
