Anything that brings oral health into the national consciousness is enthusiastically welcomed at 543 Dental Centre, particularly after the recent disruption to dental services caused by the pandemic and in the face of continued inequalities in oral health in the UK.
As Public Health England stated in their summary of a recent report into Inequalities in oral health in England, “poor oral health is almost entirely preventable and despite good progress over the last few decades, oral health inequalities remain a significant public health problem in England.”
The report found clear evidence of social inequalities in terms of dental cavities, tooth loss, oral cancer and the impact of oral health on people’s quality of life.
It also found that 39% of 5-year-olds from ‘routine and manual social class backgrounds’ only saw a dentist when they had symptoms of disease, compared to 25% of 5-year-olds from ‘managerial and professional class families’ who were more likely to attend routine appointments.
Poor oral health has negative consequences not only on people’s ability to eat and speak, as well as their self-confidence, and also impacts on a systemic level. The mouth is the ‘gateway’ to the whole body and oral diseases can have a significant impact on overall physical health. Problems with eating, drinking or the appearance of teeth can also decrease a person’s confidence and affect their quality of life and mental health.
Passionate about oral health
That’s why we’re absolutely committed to helping our patients and the wider community achieve better oral health. Hull is an area with a relatively high level of social deprivation compared to the rest of the country, and we take our role in promoting better oral hygiene routines and regular visits to the dentist very seriously.
We’re proud of our involvement with the award-winning Teeth Team supervised tooth-brushing programme in schools, which is a successful community effort to improve children’s oral health. And we always welcome children into our practice, even before their 1st tooth has appeared to get them used to the sights and smells of a dental practice and to give them their 1st dental check-up by the age of 1.
The habit of a lifetime
The double-whammy of sustained over-consumption of sugar in the UK and increasing life expectancy means that our teeth face a bigger challenge than ever before if they are to remain healthy for life. Every time we eat sugar, our teeth come under acid-attack, which can erode teeth and cause cavities, especially if we consume sugar constantly throughout the day.
National Smile Month, which runs from 17th May to 17th June is the perfect time to reassess your oral hygiene routine and eating habits, and to seek advice from a dental professional. We have a wealth of advice and resources on our website including videos and FAQS which will remind you of what habits to avoid and give you tips on devising an effective oral hygiene routine at home.
543 Dental Centre is always ready to welcome patients for routine dental check-ups and our dental hygienists are seeing patients again, so if you got out of the habit of visiting the hygienist during lockdown, why not book an appointment with our friendly team now and re-start as you mean to go on?
Access oral health advice on our website, or call us on 01482 565488 to book in for a dental check-up or hygiene appointment.
