Diamond Dental Care and Implant Centre Dental Health Month 2020
How much sugar is hiding in your trolley?
Dental Health Month, which takes place in the month of August, is the DentalCareXtra and Australian Dental Association’s major annual oral health promotion campaign. Its aim is to educate Australians about the importance of maintaining good oral health in every aspect of their lives.
Our aim here at DentalCareXtra is to educate Australians about the importance of maintaining good oral health by promoting four key messages:
Brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.
Eat a healthy, balanced diet and limit sugar intake.
Clean between your teeth daily using floss or interdental brushes.
Visit the dentist regularly for check-ups and preventive care.
The focus of this year’s campaign is on the harm sugar does to oral health, aiming to help Australians to ‘get sugar savvy’. The campaign includes about
This information is reinforced with three main sugar messages:
• Consume no more than 6 teaspoons (24 grams) of free sugar per day as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
• Choose foods with less than 10 grams of sugar per 100 grams.
• Look out for hidden sugars when purchasing foods and drinks.
These important messages will be reinforced via the tagline: ‘How much sugar is hiding in your trolley?’, which draws on the concept of hidden sugars and reading food labels in order to make healthy choices. Making healthy choices at the supermarket extends to making similar smart food and drink choices at home. Saying ‘no’ to an unhealthy item in the supermarket means you don’t have to continue to say ‘no’ at home.
Tempting as it is to think that everyone is practicing good oral health, the reality is that the oral health of many Australians is not where it should be.
• Less than 50% of Australians adults have had a dental check-up in the last 12 months.
• 53% of Australians brush their teeth only once-a-day.
• Nearly 40% never floss or clean between their teeth.
• 73% of young people (14-18 years) are consuming too much sugar.
• 47% of adults (18+ years) are consuming too much sugar.
We recommend a check up with a dental hygienist every six months, especially for younger patients. In such appointments we can notice habits such as excess sugar consumption, acidic food consumption and suggest ways to manage such things.
