March 20 is World Oral Health Day, and it’s a great opportunity to reassess your oral health routine, particularly if it has been a while since your last dental appointment.
“We are seeing many people who have put off going to their dental practice over the past two years during COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions, and that has a really detrimental impact,” says Maven Dental’s Clinical Advisor, Dr Fred Calavassy.
“Unfortunately people are coming in with dental issues that could have been caught earlier, and would have been easier to correct. Prevention is always going to be better for the patient, and more cost effective.”
The most common oral diseases are tooth decay, and periodontal disease which affects the gums. While poor oral health can impair a person’s appearance and speech, leading to lower self-esteem, it can actually affect much more than the mouth. It is associated with a number of chronic diseases, including stroke, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, lung conditions, oral cancers, and pregnancy and birth complications.
“It’s not about having a perfect mouth—it’s about having a healthy one,” says Fred.
“Maintaining your oral health is as simple as investing minutes per day brushing and flossing correctly, maintaining a diet low in digestible sugars, minimising snacking between meals, and seeing your dentist regularly to enable an opportunity to catch any disease progression early.”
But many Australians still aren’t even getting the basics right. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s National Study of Adult Oral Health 2017-2018, just over half (56%) of Australians had seen a dentist or dental professional in the previous 12 months, while 11% of adults had not seen a dentist for five years or more.
This World Oral Health Day is a great opportunity to reinstate good oral health routines, and make an appointment at your nearest Maven Dental practice, particularly if it has been a while.
“Dental disease is preventable. Now that restrictions have been lifted, make sure you get to the dentist with the same urgency as many were going to get their hair cut after lockdowns,” says Fred.