Rushing brushing not best way to clean

Press, 16 November 1987, Page 35

Rushing brushing not best way to clean

Word of Mouth

By

DESMOND SMITH,

8.D.5., D.D.H.P.

When we were young, the story was to clean your teeth twice a day, see your dentist. twice a year, and eat apples or carrots after a meal to keep your teeth healty. Things have certainly changed in the last few years. Now we know it is how well you clean your teeth rather than how often that matters.

A thorough job once a day is much better than a rushed one three times. Apples and carrots may make your mouth feel nice and clean, but they fail to take away that allconsuming plaque from the places where it does most harm. Now we find that the twice a year bit with the dentist is coming up for questioning. To be truthful, it must be admitted that several prominent dental leaders over the world have been saying for some time that once-a-year checking of the mouth is quite sufficient for most people.

-There are some changes afoot in New Zealand with dental examinations for children. Starting in January, 1988, most patients in the dental benefits scheme will be treated for only one period instead of two, each year. That decision has been made because by far the greater number requires only examination and cleaning in any one

year. So, for them, the extra visit is superfluous. Naturally, some young people fall into a different category because of a higher rate of decay, trouble with their gums dr some other problem. The dentist is in the best position to decide these things and make suitable arrangements for these patients. The Department of Health has quite rightly judged that these youngsters would be disadvantaged if the frequency of their visits were to be reduced. Special provision will be made for them to continue with twice-yearly check-ups. As for the children attending school dental clinics, alterations are in the wind there also. Over the last year or two, a piglot study has been made in some parts of the country to sort out which children are at a high risk of dental disease, so they could be given extra care in the nature of sealants for the tooth surfaces and fluoride mouthwashes to

help strengthen the enamel.

By the use of : such preventive measures, it is hoped to bring at least some of them into a lower risk category. , '".,

The rest of the children have been assigned only one check-up during the year, and this was found to be more than adequate to keep their mouths healthy. Quite a departure from the traditional six-monthly visits, but with the huge decrease in decay which has shown up in the last 10 years, it is only natural that older ways would become out-dated. When it comes to adults, it is very interesting to note that quite a number have already made up their own mind on the subject, and take no notice of the twice-a-year thing. In many cases that has been the logical and sensible thing to do. Unfortunately, there are other cases where their decision on the next visit has been controlled by small emergencies in the mouth like broken fillings, toothache, or bleeding gums.

Those are the situations which the dental profession would like to change, and the best way for that to come about is for dentist and patient to get together. Your dentist knows what will best serve the health of your mouth. How often you visit should be based on fact, not fancy.