March 20 is
"World Oral Health Day"
World Oral Health Day
This year's theme is:
Linking together Oral health
Oral disease is one of the most common health problems in the world. Most adults and nearly 90% of children in the world are more or less troubled by oral diseases. The most common oral diseases in the world include tooth caries, periodontal diseases and oral cancer. The 2007 World Federation of Dental (FDI) Annual Conference decided to set March 20 of each year as "World Oral Health Day (WOHD), the purpose is to awaken people to pay attention to oral health and maintain overall health.
According to the national oral epidemiological survey of my country, the incidence of oral diseases in my country is more than 90%, but the current phenomenon of oral diseases focusing on treatment and slight prevention is very common. The risk factors for common oral diseases such as caries and periodontal diseases are very clear, and oral diseases can be prevented to a certain extent through correct oral health measures. The theme of 2020 World Oral Health Day is "Working together for oral health". The following will share with you the oral health care methods for the general and special groups (pregnant women, children, the elderly and young families). If you can promise the following oral health care measures, it will be beneficial to the oral health of you and your family.
General population
Self-oral health care measures
1. Correct brushing
Cultivating good brushing habits is very important for maintaining oral health. Use fluoride toothpaste and brush your teeth twice a day for two minutes each time. Master the correct brushing method, use a manual or electric toothbrush to brush your teeth in an arc, rather than brushing it back and forth horizontally. After brushing your teeth, spit out water directly instead of gargling to avoid fluorine protection.
2. Change the toothbrush regularly
The toothbrush needs to be replaced every 3 months, and worn old toothbrushes cannot effectively clean teeth.
3. Regular use of floss
Use floss and gap cleaning tools to clean areas between teeth that are difficult to reach by toothbrushes. Regular cleaning of the gap between teeth helps remove plaque near the gums, and relieves gingival inflammation and oral odor.
4. Don’t eat snacks after brushing your teeth at night
Brushing your teeth before going to bed is very important. Otherwise bacteria will attach to your teeth all night, causing dental caries.
5. Methods to protect your mouth during the trip
After each snack or a meal, you can not always brush your teeth, especially during the trip. You can chew sugar-free chewing gum , or rinse your mouth with fluorine-containing mouthwash.
6. Regular oral health checks
Babies should take them to the dentist when they first develop teeth. Prevention, early diagnosis and treatment can effectively improve the progress of oral diseases. The dentist will propose oral health maintenance plans suitable for you based on your oral health status. Regular oral health checks can help maintain your oral health.
7. Choose a healthy diet
Healthy diet and eat less high-sugar foods and beverages. The sugar in this article refers to sugar added to food or beverages by processors, chefs or consumers, as well as sugars naturally found in honey, maple syrup, juice and juice concentrates, excluding sugars naturally found in fruits, vegetables and milk.
Special population
Oral health measures
Children's oral health measures:
Dirty teeth plays an important role in retaining growth space for permanent teeth. Therefore, protecting the baby teeth in children is very important for the development of permanent teeth and the development of the oral and maxillofacial areas.
① Although newborns have not yet grown teeth, it is still very important to maintain oral health from the first day of their lives. Wipe your gums with a clean, moist gauze or small towel, especially after feeding and before going to bed. Although it is sometimes difficult to operate, try to avoid letting your baby fall asleep with the bottle in his mouth. Once your baby starts to grow teeth, you need to clean your teeth twice a day, just like you brush your teeth twice a day.
② Help children get rid of pacifiers: sucking pacifiers or thumbs for too long will affect the child's teeth and oral development. Thumb sucking or excessive pacifier use is discouraged.Never dip the pacifier in sugar or honey.
③Bottle feeding principles: Only breast milk, formula, milk or boiled water are included in the bottle. Avoid adding sugar to milk, or filling sweet drinks in bottles such as sugary water, fruit juice or soft drinks. If possible, encourage children to use water cups starting at the age of one.
④Teach children to brush their teeth correctly: Brush their teeth in the morning and evening every day - After breakfast and before going to bed, use a thin layer of fluoride toothpaste the size of a pea (note: Children under three years old use fluoride toothpaste the size of rice grains). Fluoride toothpaste can make the teeth stronger. Brush your teeth gently for 2 minutes using arc brushing method (rather than brushing front and back horizontally). Make sure you brush each tooth – the front, the back and all of the teeth.
⑤ Correct brushing is very important for oral health. Supervise children to brush their teeth until they can brush their teeth correctly.
Oral health care measures for pregnant women:
After pregnancy, hormone changes will affect the oral health of pregnant women. In this special period, maintaining oral health can help protect the health of pregnant women and fetus.
① Methods to protect your mouth during morning sickness
Morning sickness will affect some pregnant women. Gastric reflux (food or beverage reflux) or vomiting can increase the amount of acid in the mouth, which damages the enamel and increases the risk of caries. After vomiting, rinse your mouth with water or fluorine-containing mouthwash, or apply toothpaste on your teeth with your fingers and wait for at least 30 minutes before brushing your teeth.
②Eat a healthy diet, control the sugar in the diet
Use foods rich in protein and calcium are beneficial to the health of pregnant women and fetus. As soon as the child is born, oral care can be performed, and try to avoid sharing feeding tools or kissing the lips to prevent the spread of bacteria.
Oral health measures for the elderly:
① Keep dentures clean: If you wear movable dentures (desses) and need to clean them every day, please follow the oral doctor's instructions and use special denture cleaners and clean water to clean the dentures.
②Dry mouth will affect your comfort when eating, talking, swallowing, chewing, and smiling. Dry mouth will occur when there is not enough saliva to moisten the mouth. Saliva can weaken the caries of acidic substances and can also play a role in self-cleaning of the mouth. Smoking, drinking alcohol, the use of certain drugs and some diseases may cause dry mouth. Chewing sugar-free chewing gum or sucking sugar-free hard candies can stimulate saliva secretion. Drinking water while eating to help chew and swallow food can help relieve dry mouth. Dry mouthwash, moisturizing oral spray or gel, or artificial saliva can also relieve dry mouth.
③The health of the temporomandibular joint is very important for maintaining jaw stability. No repair after missing teeth, loose dentures or transitional use may increase the risk of mandibular dislocation. If you have loose teeth or inappropriate dentures, you should seek medical treatment as soon as possible.
④Refusal to use tobacco: any form of tobacco is dangerous regardless of smoking or not. Tobacco will not only increase the risk of gum disease and oral cancer, but will also lead to tooth pigmentation, oral odor, premature loss of teeth, dry mouth, loss of taste and smell.
⑤Avoid drinking: Excessive drinking is the main risk factor for many diseases, including oral diseases. The acidic and high-sugar ingredients in most alcoholic beverages can corrode teeth or cause caries.
Source: Health News, Chinese Stomatology Society.
