Dental Health Week: 4 - 10 August 2008

 

Young Australians are being encouraged to undertake a 7 Day Dental Bootcamp 
which will give them the basic training they need to look after their teeth, and to 
understand what’s good for them and what they should avoid. 

The Bootcamp program can be commenced at any time – 
just go to the Dental Health Week website and follow the prompts. 

 

The Caring Generation is focussed on the oral health of Australians who are between 30 and 50 years 
of age. A person in their mid to late thirties can now expect to keep most of their teeth for life. This 
has a significant impact on the way in which Australians need to maintain their oral health.

 

The ADA notes that while tooth loss is declining in adults, keeping natural teeth increases the risk of more 
complex oral health issues. Dentists say that they are seeing more adults presenting with decay affecting 
the roots of the teeth, serious gum disease (clinically known as periodontal disease), extensive dental 
erosion, and gum recession, commonly referred to as ‘getting long in the tooth’.

 

Dr Lejmanoski, chair of the Oral Health Committee for the ADA says that “The most recent national Survey 
of Adult Oral Health 2004-06: Australia’s dental generations indicates that while more Australian adults are 
going to the dentist now than 17 years ago, approximately 48% of people are not attending the dentist 
regularly,” says Dr Lejmanoski.

 

“Regular dental check-ups and the maintenance of good oral hygiene would result in an expense that is a 
fraction of the yearly cost of most people’s visits to the hairdresser. With more and more research showing 
the intrinsic link between oral health and overall health, a regular dental check up can prove to be an 
investment in good health”, adds Dr Lejmanoski.