Oral Health Promotion In Australia

Good oral and dental hygiene is an essential part of general health and wellbeing. The annual World Oral Health Day is being celebrated today, on 20 March internationally.

The day launches a year-long campaign dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of maintaining good oral and dental hygiene.

The FDI World Dental Federation started the launch of World Oral Health Day themes since 2013. The theme for this year is ‘Say Ahh: Think Mouth, Think Health.’

What is oral health promotion?

It’s kind of like ‘Slip, slop, slap,’ only for teeth. But try as the dental profession might, it’s easier to get Australians to slip on a shirt, slap on the sunscreen and slap on a hat than it is to brush teeth regularly.

A lot of it is about associations. Through consistent and, sometimes, dramatic advertising we’ve come to associate the beach – and the outdoors generally – with skin cancer. We’re thus been programmed to look after our skin.

Why is it so much harder to convince us to look after our teeth?

Well, for one, teeth don’t threaten our lives; we might look a bit silly without them, but we’re not going to die. If all our teeth fell out tomorrow, we’d mourn their loss, but be straight out there seeking replacements (if we could afford them) and eating our dinner through a straw until we did.

Oral health promotion simply isn’t prominent enough.

What is oral health care?

Oral health care refers to caring for your teeth on a daily basis and ensuring you follow a good dental hygiene. Is it too hard to follow a good dental plan? Well, no. The first step in achieving good dental care is developing and then following a daily oral health routine.

Does dental care scare you?

Well, old perceptions die hard, sometimes. Anyone who’s lived long enough to see one of those awful grinding drills in a school dental clinic has an ingrained aversion to dental health. Dental health means pain, excruciating pain.

Yet, that’s no longer the case. The task for dental health is to convince the masses that a visit to the dental clinic is no longer akin to oral torture.

Well, that’s the other task. Promoting dental health seems to be about making bad dental health scary, yet making dental health itself, or the profession, the opposite.

Perhaps the digital age holds the key.

There was a time when we only took photos at birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, parties and Christmas. Now anyone with a smartphone is civilian paparazzi 24/7.

These days, we can’t eat a boiled egg for breakfast without it turning into a photo opportunity; an opportunity that turns into a photo post shared with hundreds of eager people.

Why is this important? Well, people with bad teeth – be they bent, broken or discoloured - can be pretty self-conscious. Smiles become carefully orchestrated curls of the lips rather than uninhibited grins; at least in everyday life.

You can rectify this by visiting a dentist to correct the complicated dental issues. Once your dental problems are taken care of, you can maintain good teeth hygiene by following some simple steps.

Quick and easy tips for good oral health:

• Brush twice a day
• Brush thoroughly, floss regularly and rinse daily
• Massage your gums lightly with clean fingers to stimulate increased blood flow
• Eat a balanced diet and limit snacking and drinks that can impact dental health
• Talk to a dentist and understand your own oral health needs
• Use toothpaste and mouth rinses that contain fluoride
• Stop using tobacco products, if you are

Proper dental care need not be a daunting or intimidating prospect. Following the right dental regime regularly goes a long way in having healthy oral health.

Do diet drinks affect the health of your teeth? Our previous post on ‘Are diet drinks bad for you’ investigates the matter!

Would you like to help people have healthy smiles by taking your dental health knowledge to the next level? Our range of Dental Assisting courses would be of great help! Call us on 1300 616 197 and speak to our advisors for more information.