DENTAL Health Weeks runs from 3-9 of August. This year’s focus has a sports theme, with dentists wanting to create awareness in the overlooked consequences of frequent sport drink consumption.
Risks of not wearing a mouthguard or wearing one that is ineffective is another area of focus this year.
New studies have shown that active Australians are putting their dental health at risk by consuming too many sugar-laden, acidic sports drinks.
The survey reveals that 35 per cent of the adults who consume sports drinks are unaware of just how much the amount of acid and sugars in these drinks can cause permanent dental damage such as erosion and tooth decay.
Nearly a third of parents with active children were found to have let their children consume sports drink at least once a week.
Research has shown that the amount of acid in these drinks combined with regular consumption can lead to tooth erosion in as little as five days of use.
The survey also revealed that around 75 per cent of people who wear mouthguards are buying them over the counter.
Dentists regard these mouthguards as uncertified and ineffective. One in two parents also let their children wear uncertified mouthguards.
The Australian Dental Association is calling on parents of future athletes to introduce their children to healthy drinking habits and to visit their dentist to have a custom-made mouthguard fitted.
Granite Belt Dental
Granite Belt Dental principal dentist Michael Letters said Dental Health Week was about raising awareness and instilling dental education in children while they were young.
“The whole point is to raise people’s awareness and the importance of the health of the mouth and teeth,” he said.
“Poor general health can relate to poor dental health, they range with relationships with poor oral health and heart disease. If you’re pregnant and you have gum disease, you’re more likely to have a low birth weight baby, more likely than if you were smoking.
“It’s about trying to make people aware that there are those linkages run both ways and understanding the link between poor oral and poor general health.”
Granite Belt Dental participates in the Child Benefits Medicare scheme which allows eligible children to receive dental treatment to the value of $1000 over two years.
“The first thing is getting off to a good start with your dental health with children is really critical, if we can concentrate on health of children we are setting them up for good oral health for life, that’s why we bulk bill through the Medicare program, and have a big program through schools and childcare centres,” he said.
Dentist Sue Fleming runs the oral health programs in schools and childcare centres across the Southern Downs region.
“In August, we contact day care centres and schools, and we go all over to places like Maryvale, Inglewood, Texas and Killarney; we go and give free talks half-hour sessions, give out sample bags, we just talk about going to the dentist. The main concept is to try and introduce them to dentists and understanding it’s not scary it’s just part of a routine,” she said.
Dental Health Week concludes on Sunday.
