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Release: Immediate
Brits have a screw loose when it comes to flossing
Date: 11/05/2006
Release: Immediate
Five worst flossing implements used by people in the UK:
1. Screwdrivers
2. Earrings
3. Needles
4. Keys
5. Paper clips
A survey has revealed that people are risking their oral health by picking their teeth with dangerous household implements!
According to the National Dental Survey, conducted by the British Dental Health Foundation in association with HealthSure, many people simply use whatever is close to hand to remove food trapped between the teeth.
Over 60% of people questioned for the survey admitted to using makeshift items to pick their teeth, with screwdrivers, scissors, needles and knives being among the answers given.
The survey, conducted in the run–up to National Smile Month (May 14–June 13) also found that a further 23% of people do get food stuck in their teeth, but choose to leave it there — increasing the risk of gum disease and bad breath.
Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the Foundation, commented: "Clearly people really need to be educated on the importance of flossing.
"Flossing is a vital part of a good oral health routine, removing food particles from between the teeth and plaque from against gumline. It should be done once–a–day before brushing.
"However it is very important to be gentle, even when using proper dental floss, as jerking or snapping the floss into the gums can damage the gum tissue.
"The best thing to dislodge food from between the teeth with is interdental wood sticks, as these are shaped specifically for this purpose. However, cocktail sticks are not and should really be avoided.
He added: "The idea of someone picking their teeth with a screwdriver may sound amusing for a moment but it is actually a big worry that so many people are happy to use whatever is closest to hand to remove food from between their teeth. A screwdriver is hardly the most flexible of items and I don't think people realise the damage this could do to their gums!"
As well as screwdrivers, scissors, needles and knives the survey also saw people admit to using keys, paper clips, matchsticks, earrings, nail files, pencils, cards and forks to pick food from between their teeth.
Richard Sear, managing director of national healthcare cash plan provider, HealthSure, who sponsored the survey commented: "We're shocked that the survey has revealed that many people are still not aware of how to take basic care of their teeth.
"Flossing is a key part of a good oral health routine along with brushing twice–a–day with fluoride toothpaste and cutting down on the frequency of sugary foods and drinks."
This year's National Smile Month campaign is using the theme 'Feed Your Smile' to remind people of the importance of eating a healthy, balanced diet and maintaining a good oral health routine.
ENDS
Editor's notes
For further information please contact the Foundation's Press Office on 0870 770 4014.
A full pre–prepared oral health feature is contained below.
• The British Dental Health Foundation is the UK's leading oral health charity, with a 30–year track record of providing public information and influencing government policy. The Dental Helpline, which offers free impartial dental advice to consumers, can be contacted on 0845 063 1188 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday or by e–mailing helpline@dentalhealth.org.uk.
• HealthSure is one of the nations leading healthcare cash plan providers.
• HealthSure's policies help to budget towards the cost of a host of everyday healthcare costs such as dental, optical, physiotherapy, complementary therapies and a health screen.
• From as little as £9.95 per month, a policy holder can claim up to £90 per year on check ups, fillings or more complex dental treatments whether that be private or NHS. For £29.95 per month, £240 per year may be claimed back on dental treatments.
• HealthSure is a trading division of Simplyhealth Access and is a provider of Healthplans.
• Simplyhealth Access comprises of Manchester based healthcare health plan provider HealthSure, Leeds based health plan provider LHF HealthPlan, Andover based cash plan and private medical insurer HSA and Bristol based private medical Insurer BCWA.
• Part of the Simplyhealth Group, Simplyhealth Access is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
• HealthSure provide a funding solution to help meet the cost of everyday healthcare. HealthSure also provide solutions for the corporate healthcare market.
• As of December 2005 HealthSure cover some 235,000 customers. Simplyhealth Access covers some 2.25 million people.
• Further information on the company is available at www.healthsure.co.uk
If you do not wish to receive further press releases from the British Dental Health Foundation, please reply to this e–mail.
FEATURES
The Foundation has a series of patient information leaflets that can be reproduced in print as a feature.
All information has been analysed and approved by the Word Centre for Plain English, meaning it is clear and easy to understand.
Please visit www.nationalsmilemonth.org to view this information in full.
Below is a summary.
DIET AND MY TEETH
A poor diet can cause a wide range of oral health problems, including decay, erosion and gum disease.
It is better for your teeth and our general health if you eat three meals a day instead of having seven to ten snack attacks.
If you do snack try to choose something that doesn't contain sugar. Some examples of healthy snacks are milk, water, cheese, raw vegetables and breadsticks.
What is decay?
Every time you eat or drink something sugary your teeth are placed under acid attack for up to one hour.
The reason for this is that sugar reacts with the bacteria found in plaque to produce harmful acids that attack the tooth and destroy the protective enamel. If these attacks occur too frequently the enamel is destroyed and decay occurs. A painful hole in the tooth, otherwise know as a cavity, will be the eventual result.
What foods can cause tooth decay?
All sugars cause tooth decay. When checking a food label many people fail to look for, or perhaps are unaware of, so–called 'hidden sugars' such as glucose, sucrose and fructose. However, these sugars can damage your teeth too.
Most processed foods have some form of sugar in them. Be sure to check the labels when food shopping. The higher in the list of ingredients sugar appears, the more sugar that product contains.
Cola, cordial fruit juice, sweets, ketchup and dried fruits can all cause decay.
What is erosion?
Erosion is caused when too frequent consumption of acidic foods and drinks causes the tooth enamel to dissolve.
Fizzy drinks, fruit juices, vinegar, pickles and curry can all cause erosion.
If these are consumed too often, over time you can start to lose the surface of your teeth, causing pain and sensitivity.
Erosion can also cause your teeth to appear quite unsightly. By wearing away the enamel, erosion exposes the darker dentine underneath while the teeth also become shorter and shorter.
Can a poor diet cause gum disease?
Not directly, but a diet that is rich in vitamins, minerals and fresh produce can help to prevent gum disease, a condition the affects 19 out of 20 of us at some point in our lives.
Gum disease describes inflammation of the gums. An early sign of the condition is bleeding gums. If you do suffer with gum disease it is important that you address the problem in the early stages as recent studies have found a link between gum disease and general health conditions such as heart disease, heart attacks and strokes.
However, the best way to guard against gum disease (and decay and erosion) is to adopt a good oral healthcare routine.
ORAL HEALTHCARE ROUTINE
A good oral healthcare routine does not take as much effort as you might think.
Simple steps such a brushing twice–a–day with fluoride toothpaste, cleaning between the teeth with floss or dental tape and visiting the dentist regularly can help prevent most oral health problems.
How should I brush?
Twice daily brushing with fluoride toothpaste is the most important action you can take to maintain your oral health.
An effective brushing method is easy to develop. Simply tilt the bristles at a 45–degree angle towards the gumline and move the brush in small circular movements covering all surfaces of the teeth for two minutes.
Be sure to clean your tongue to avoid bad breath. This is because most bad breath is caused by bacteria on the tongue.
You should always use fluoride toothpaste. Fluoride works by strengthening the tooth enamel and making it more resistant to decay. The introduction of fluoride to toothpaste has led to a 50 percent reduction in the levels of decay we experience.
What sort of toothbrush should I use?
Despite the millions spent on advertising electric toothbrushes, there is absolutely no reason why you can't achieve excellent results with a manual brush.
This view is backed by an independent, scientific report from the Cochrane Collaboration which found that electric brushes such as sonic brushes are no more effective at removing plaque than manual alternatives.
However, electric brushes with a rotating, oscillating head were found to be up to 17% more effective than manual brushes.
Interestingly, according to research by the Foundation, more than one in 10 of us now use both an electric and a manual toothbrush.
Whatever type you use, it is important that you change your brush or brush head every three months. Old brushes do not remove plaque as effectively and the build up of bacteria can lead to problems such as gum disease.
How should I floss?
Flossing removes plaque and food particles from between the teeth and under the gumline — areas a toothbrush can't reach.
You should floss at least once a day before brushing. This will loosen any food particles ready to be washed away by brushing.
The basic flossing method involves wrapping approximately18 inches of floss around your forefingers with about an inch held tightly between your thumbs.
The most important thing here is that you are gentle. Adopt a slow rocking action to guide the floss between your teeth. Jerking or snapping the floss into the gums can damage the gum tissue.
You can remove plaque by holding the floss in a C–shape against the tooth and gently scraping alongside the side of the tooth away from the gums.
For more advice on how to floss you should speak to your dentist or hygienist.
How often should I visit my dentist?
It is important that you visit your dentist on a regular basis, as often as is recommended.
According to guidelines published by expert body the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) this will usually be somewhere between every six months and every two years and will be decided by your dentist according to your individual circumstances.
Regular visits are important because they enable your dentist to keep track of any potential oral health problems, suggesting easy solutions in the early stages.
Dentists are also trained to spot oral health conditions such as mouth cancer, so a trip to the dentist could save your life.
Latest figures show that 57% of adults are registered with an NHS dentist and 23% with a private dentist. This suggests that 20% of people are not registered with a dentist.
If you are not registered you can contact NHS Direct on 0845 46 47 to find out about any NHS dentists in your area. Alternatively, you could contact private dentists in your area by looking them up in the Yellow Pages or Directory Enquiries. Ask them about prices — they might not be as expensive as you think!
FACTS AND FIGURES
Smile
• It takes 43 muscles to frown but only 17 to smile
• 96% of people see a smile as very important to someone's overall appearance. (Academy of General Dentistry)
• 70% of people think a healthy smile could make you more successful (National Smile Week Survey 2005)
• 68% would be more likely to speak to someone they didn't know if they had smiled at them (National Smile Week Survey 2005)
Oral Health Problems
• About 5 million people visit their dentist with toothache every year
• 19 out of 20 people suffer from gum disease at some point in their life, making it the most common disease in the world
• Nearly one–third of UK adults have 12 or more fillings. (BDA)
• One in four adults suffer from bad breath on a regular basis
• 2 in 3 people claim they would tell a friend if they had bad breath (National Smile Week Survey 2002)
• 24% of people are not happy with how their teeth look (National Smile Week Survey 2002)
• A quarter of people who have had cosmetic treatment would never have considered it five years ago (National Smile Week Survey 2005)
Oral Health Routine
• Most adults only change their toothbrush once a year. It is recommended that a toothbrush should be replaced 4 times a year
• 39% of people now use electric toothbrush, with 13% using both electric and manual (National Smile Week Survey 2005)
• 45% of people admit they would let their partner borrow their toothbrush (National Smile Week Survey 2002)
• 1 in 5 people brush their teeth less than twice–a–day (National Smile Week Survey 2005)
• Only 22% of people claim to use floss regularly (National Smile Week Survey 2005)
• Nearly 90% of people snack, yet only a third snack most regularly on fruit (National Smile Week Survey 2002)
Dentistry
• 97% of people agree that dentistry is a vital part of a family's overall health (National Smile Week Survey 2005)
• 57% of adults in England are registered with an NHS dentist and 23% with a non–NHS dentist (Healthcare Commission 2005)
• 69% of those not registered with an NHS dentist, want to be (Healthcare Commission 2005)
• Less than half the population have frequent dental checkups (NHS or private), and 12 percent haven't been for more than two years
• Nearly two thirds of people (64%) are nervous about some kinds of dental treatment. (Adult Dental Health Survey 1998)
Other
• Only 11%of the UK population have fluoride added to their water. People living in fluoridated areas suffered less cases of tooth decay. (British Fluoridation Society)
• Smoking can cause bad breath, gum disease, tooth staining and oral cancer
• Smoking and drinking account for the majority of cases of oral cancer, which kills over 1,700 people every year. (Cancer Research UK)
National Smile Month background
For 30 years National Smile Week has been the biggest annual oral health campaign in the UK, taking key oral health information to millions of people every year.
This year, to celebrate the 30th anniversary, the British Dental Health Foundation has expanded the week to launch National Smile Month — giving people even more time to get involved in the campaign.
The British Dental Health Foundation is an independent oral health information charity. National Smile Month is a key factor in the organisation's success in taking simple, practical advice to millions of people nationwide.
A major reason for the success of the campaign is the enthusiasm and hard work of the thousands of event organisers who are dedicated to helping the Foundation spread the message of good oral health.
This year, event organisers have been invited to input details of their event to the website www.nationalsmilemonth.org. Visit the site to find out about events in your area.
ENDS
Editor's Note:
Further information, including a database of events in your area, can be found on the official National Smile Month Website: www.nationalsmilemonth.org
To contact our Media Department or to arrange an interview with an oral health expert call 0870 770 4014 or email pr@dentalhealth.org.uk
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