How often to you brush your teeth? Do you floss daily?
When was the last time you visited the dentist?
Do you eat a diet high in sugar?
These are the questions we need to ask ourselves and members of our family when assessing oral health.
Alarmingly, statistics show many Australians don’t have great oral health due to poor dental habits.
Only half of adults clean their teeth twice a day and our sugar consumption exceeds WHO guidelines, contributing to tooth decay as the most common chronic disease in Australia.
Statistics also show that:
- 63% of adults haven’t seen a dentist for over two years
- 57% say they can’t afford to go to the dentist
- 11% are too frightened to visit a dentist
- When we do visit the dentist, 71% of us only do so because of a problem
Australian Dental Association President Dr Carmelo Bonanno says many of us need to do a lot better when it comes to caring for our teeth and mouth.
“If everyone brushed their teeth twice a day, flossed daily, visited their dentist regularly and ate a balanced, nutritious diet low in sugar, this would all go a long way to improving the dental health of Australians as they would need less dental treatments,” Dr Carmelo Bonanno said.
The need for brushing twice daily, flossing daily, regular dentist visits and nutritious diets low in sugar were the main four messages the ADA promoted during Dental Health Week, from August 5-11. Dr Bonanno says improving your oral health will likely lead to better overall health.
“It’s now becoming more widely accepted too, that there are strong links between the health of the mouth and what’s going on in the rest of the body so paying attention to your mouth will reap dividends for the rest of the body,” he said.
