‘Be a Mouth Keeper’
Economical ways to look after your oral health during the pandemic

You’ve heard of ‘Job Keeper’. Now the Australian Dental Association (ADA) is urging people to become a ‘Mouth Keeper’ by putting into action a range of low-cost measures to look after their oral health during Covid-19.

Plenty of people are stuck at home snacking more on sugary treats, others won’t head to a dentist as they’re concerned about virus transmission or public transport travel.

We already knew the nation’s oral health was in poor shape with one in three people having untreated tooth decay, only 48% of adults visiting a dentist for a check-up in the last 12 months, one in two adults having way too much sugar every day and 30% of kids having tooth decay in baby teeth by age five*.

The pandemic will make this bad situation worse. We’re encouraging people to be ‘Mouth Keepers’ with some free or low cost smart tooth tactics they can adopt to protect their oral health through this difficult time.

1. Brush twice daily with a toothbrush – it’s one of your best defences against tooth decay. But beware – brushes with bristles splayed sideways are due for the bin. An electric toothbrush isn’t necessary – and remember to brush gently as hard brushing will damage enamel.
2. Always use a toothpaste containing fluoride for optimum protection of your teeth. Children should start using fluoride paste from 18 months of age and be supervised until they are old enough to do it alone.
3. Clean between your teeth with floss or interdental brushes to free the trapped food debris and plaque that builds up, starting the tooth decay process and inflammation of the gums. Children need help to floss until they can manage it themselves.
4. Ditch the rinse after brushing – spit out the excess toothpaste after brushing but don’t rinse with water. This leaves behind toothpaste residue to continue providing extra protection.

5.Get sugar savvy and watch your sugar intake: the WHO recommends just six teaspoons a day – that’s around 24g, to decrease your risk of developing tooth decay

6. Be your own ‘sugar detective’: check the sugar content on the Nutrition Information Panel (NIP) on food and drink – this may be per serve or per 100g. To make the content understandable, turn it into teaspoons. Divide the value by 4 as one teaspoon of sugar is equal to 4 grams. So, if the label says 10g, this equals 2.5 teaspoons of sugar.
7. How much is too much? Look at the sugar content per 100g serving on the NIP – if it’s more than 15g you should consider looking for an alternative with a lower sugar content – the lower the sugar the better – ideally less than 5g per 100g.
8. Location, location: When deciphering the list of ingredients on food labels, the higher to the top of the list an ingredient is, the more of it is present in the item.
9. Make it yourself: when you make your own foods from scratch at home you know exactly what and how much has – and has not – gone into it including how much sugar. What’s more, it will probably be cheaper than buying it.
10. Be creative with alternative sources of sweetness in your life such as stevia, and when you get a sugar craving, opt for protein rich and tooth-friendly, nutritious snacks like nuts and cheese.

These measures will save you money and help protect your mouth in the long term, though if you have any issues or concerns, always consult your dentist.

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DON’T RISK ORAL CANCER THROUGH TOBACCO USE

ADA sends alert to all tobacco users

For World No Tobacco Day the Australian Dental Association (ADA) is sending an alert to tobacco users of all ages – with oral cancer a known risk of tobacco use, it’s never too late to quit.

Around 2.6 million Australian adults or nearly 14% of over 18s are daily smokers. Smoking claims the lives of 15,500 Aussies every year and remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease.

Giving up now significantly lengthens your life: statistics from an Oral Oncology study found that stopping smoking contributes to reducing the risk of developing oral cancer.

“Stopping smoking even after being diagnosed with oral cancer significantly improves the response to cancer treatment, and reduces the risk of other new cancers developing,” said Dr Sue-Ching Yeoh, an Oral Medicine Specialist at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and on the ADA’s Dental Therapeutics Committee.

Dentists are trained to spot the early signs of cancer in the mouth, so if you have any concerns or if your regular review is overdue due to Covid-19, make a time to go and see your dentist.

Call Cameron Dental Care on 0260247966

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With the help of happy and sad teeth they talked about different foods that can make your mouth sick or healthy. The visit provided a basic introduction into oral health as what to expect at the dentist and how to ensure teeth stay happy and healthy and avoid needing any dental fillings.

It was very engaging for the children and hopefully provided some important lessons that they can take home and into adulthood.

Dr Sarah and Jackie have a few more visits planned to other local schools in the coming weeks. If you don’t want your kids to miss out, contact the surgery on 02 6024 7966 and we can try to organise a visit to your school or preschool too!

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Wrong.

• One serving of breakfast cereal can have over 5 teaspoons sugar
• The average can of soft drink contains about 10 teaspoons sugar
• A muesli bar has a whopping 7 teaspoons sugar
• 1 cup tomato sauce can have as much as 6 teaspoons sugar

And this is before even considering the things we know to be sweet, like chocolate, lollies or dessert.

Sugar is so much more than those white granules we add to cakes or use to sweeten our drinks. It comes in many shapes and forms, making it hard to really know what we’re feeding ourselves and our families. What makes it even harder is that some sugar is naturally occurring, such as that in fruit and vegetables, and is much healthier than that found in processed foods.

The below table is from the Department of Health, and shows how much sugar there is in different types of drinks, as well as if the sugars are added or naturally occurring.

How much sugar is in my drink?

From this, it’s clear water should be our main drink throughout the day. Milk is also a good choice, as it contains only natural sugars and has other helpful ingredients like calcium. Milk also helps to neutralise acid levels.
Fruit juice and flavoured milks are sometimes drinks. They contain healthy nutrients but are fairly high in sugar.
The remainder of the drinks, including sports drinks, soft drink and energy drinks, should be consumed only very occasionally, if at all.

You can reduce your intake of sugar by reading the food labels and checking the quantity of sugar per 100g. A good guide is to aim for less than 15g sugar per 100g.

If you have too much sugar, your saliva can no longer control the acidity, causing holes in teeth that need to be filled. If left too long, the tooth might need root canal treatment or to be removed.

However, reducing your sugar intake doesn’t only help prevent tooth decay. It is of course essential to your general health and wellbeing and helps reduce the risk of diabetes and obesity.

For more information, check out Sugar Free Smiles.

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