Innovation needed in dental health education
Even with over 30 years of fluoridation, denal health education and fissure sealant dental treatment to prevent food being trapped inside grooves on chewing surfaces, tooth decay is still the most common of diseases with the economic impact of heart disease, diabetes and obesity.
Innovators may like to comment on Supertooth and Good Food Friends online dental health project for schools and the community. www.supertoothndk.org
The average Australian consumes over 1000 meals a year and prbable half as many snacks, which leave food trapped between teeth and inside grooves on chewing surfaces every time.
Amost all snacks and many meals contain carbohydrate like sugar that contribute to acid demineralisation of teeth over the years.
Children aged 12 have consumed over 9000 meals and snacks in the 6 years the have been getting second teeth in whic the have developed atound 1 cavity, but develop another 4 cavities during the teen years.
Fluoridation seems to increase resistance to acid demineralisation, but frequent consumption of cariogenic food gradually develops cavities. More cavities occur in rural communities and cities like Geelong, Mildura and Brisbane where there is no fluoridation.
Few cavities occur on smooth tongue, cheek and lip surfaces where the brush and saliva have easy acces to remove plaque bacteria and food, neutralise acid and repair demineralised tooth.
Over 80% of cavities occur inside grooves on chewing surfaces where very little food is trapped compared to that trapped between teeth and where the brush and saliva have no access.
However chewing trapps food displacing previously btrapped food and chewing fibre like celery after eating helps saliva neutralise acid and repair demineralised tooth.
Chewing special sugarfree foods before eating blocks grooves and helps prevent food being trapped and changed to acid while eating. Nuts and cheese are hard to displace and are a good starting point to develop a convenient product to chew before eating to better preventfood being trapped. Also chewing such a product after eating helps displace any trapped food and prvent acid deminaeralisation.
Trapped food prevents easy access of fluoride toothpase between teeth and inside grooves while brushing. Removen trapped food or flossing before brushing gives toothpase easy access between teeth while brusing, but not inside grooves. www.ndk.biz/red
Chewing fluoride toothpase on a strip of foam with outer open cells before brushing, forces the fluoride between teeth and inside grooves to help mineralise and toughen these most susceptible surfaces.
What are your views and how do we get the Supertooth online project in schools.
