Dental Health Week takes place from 6th to 12th August this year. It is an annual oral health promotion event run by the Australian Dental Association. Dental health awareness is a daily duty of care for us dentists. Here at Riverstone Family Dental we educate our patients. We achieve this through our online free blog content, our waiting room brochures and our staff giving oral hygiene instruction, diet and smoking cessation advice to every patient. We tailor our advice depending on whether you are a pregnant lady, an elderly man with dexterity issues or a young teen deciding on whether to get braces. We also visit schools and early learning centers where we spread the message of oral health. This year, to celebrate the month of Dental Health Week, we are offering free check ups with every scale and clean. This is excellent value as our check ups are through, engaging and informative. You will not only learn what is happening in your mouth but also how to improve the state of your oral health. Interested in booking in for an appointment? You can do so online or call 8678 3538.
These are the key messages we are highlighting during the 2018 Dental Health Week:
- Brush your teeth twice a day
- Clean in between your teeth once a day
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet and limit your sugar intake
- Regularly visit your dentist for check ups and cleans
Brush your teeth
Reminder: please turn your tap off when brushing your teeth.
FACT: 50% of Australians are brushing their teeth only once a day.
Who here lies when they tell their dentist they brush their teeth twice a day? Don’t worry you are not the only one! Here is a quote from the Australian Dental Association about how you should be brushing your teeth: “To gain the maximum benefit from brushing, you should brush for at least two minutes morning and night, using a soft-bristled toothbrush with a small head and a flexible neck. The advantage of these toothbrushes is that they remove the plaque and debris from your teeth without damaging your teeth and gums.”
Try and develop a habit with your tooth brushing. This means doing it at the same time in the morning and at night and starting in the same spot in the mouth. Use your toothbrush or a tongue scraper to help remove bad breath-causing bacteria stuck to your tongue. If you do not like manual tooth brushing, you can purchase a powered toothbrush. Please ensure you do not “push” the toothbrush into your teeth and gums. Powered toothbrushes do the work for you, so you just need to position them at 45 degrees to your gums and run them along the teeth. Finally, change your toothbrush every 3 months or after any sick periods to ensure it isn’t riddled with bacteria and worn out.
Clean between your teeth
FACT: Nearly 40% of people do not floss or clean in between their teeth. Doing the flossing dance is unfortunately not equivalent to flossing. Yes it is hard, but it helps prevent gum infections, bad breath, tooth loss and tooth decay. It saves you money in the long run because you are not forking out cash on fillings and other dental work. You can use traditional floss, a floss threader, floss pick or interdental brushes such as piksters. Visit us at Riverstone Family Dental and we will measure you up for piksters or book online today. Let’s go through how to floss:
- Choose a time and start creating the habit. For example: first thing in the morning before picking up the phone and checking Instagram.
- Use about 45cm of floss.
- Wrap the floss around your middle fingers and grip it tightly between your thumbs and pointer fingers.
- Keep the thumb and fingers close together and gently insert the floss between your teeth.
- Use a gentle up and down motion that that hugs each side of each tooth.
- Repeat for all the teeth in the mouth.
Stay healthy
FACT: 73% of 14-18 year olds are consuming too much sugar. Drink plenty of tap water throughout the day and limit any drinks with sugar in them. This includes flavoured water. Ensure that you also limit snacking between meals as this has shown to dramatically increase your risk of developing tooth decay. If you suffer from dry mouth, please talk to us at Riverstone Family Dental as we can tailor our advice to suit your needs and lifestyle. Part of staying healthy includes minimising sporting injuries and stress. Each year, thousands of people sustain dental injuries that could have been prevented by wearing a mouthguard. Mouthguards should be worn whilst training or playing a game in any contact sport such as football, soccer, basketball, hockey and martial arts. Lastly, if you grind your teeth at night, you should invest in a night guard (occlusal splint) to help minimise damage to your teeth. Try to minimise any stress you are under by practicing meditation, yoga or breathing techniques especially before bed.
Visit us
FACT: 65% of Australians haven’t seen a dentist in the last two years. Okay, chances are you are more likely to do this if you like your dentist. So do your research and come to us! Aside from our sense of humour, patients love how experienced, gentle, and caring we are. Each one of our dentists and dental assistants is in this profession to look after people – so know that you will be looked after! Every 6 months it is recommended you have your teeth checked and cleaned. This is the period of time it takes for conditions to develop or worsen in your mouth. For example: gum infection, oral cancer or tooth decay can become serious if left for longer than 6 months.
Have we made you Watch Your Mouth?
Hope you enjoyed reading our tips for Dental Health Week 2018. If you have little ones make sure you pass these tips onto them and set great habits early on in life. Our smiles are so important and help us to lead a healthy and happy life. Need a caring family dentist? Call Riverstone Family Dental on 8678 3538.
