Brushing your teeth is boring, a periodontist confessed before he retired after nearly 60 years of showing patients like me how to do it to avoid gum disease that can affect overall health.
asserted
that → brush → health
His parting message – and he wouldn’t let me use his name – was telling me about research that proved what he had discovered in a lifetime in the profession.
asserted
he → let → profession
Most of us are lousy at cleaning our teeth.
asserted
Most → clean → teeth
In research replicated around the world, 111 students were asked to brush their teeth to the “best of their ability” or brush their teeth “as usual”.
asserted
students → replicate → teeth
Those who did it to the best of their ability brushed for longer but didn’t do it better.
asserted
who → do → it
They also brushed harder, which was not only ineffective at removing the plaque that accumulates in our mouths, it can also damage the gums.
asserted
it → brush → gums
Researchers say there is hardly any health behaviour performed by such a large proportion of the world’s population as regularly as cleaning your teeth.
asserted
Researchers → say → teeth
That’s a big win for health.
asserted
That → ’ → health
Andrew Terry, a senior lecturer teaching dentists and oral health therapists at the School of Dentistry at the University of Sydney, says about 30 per cent of Australian adults have moderate to severe gum disease caused by poor and ineffective brushing.
asserted
cent → teach → brushing
Some people don’t know how to do it properly, and most people lack time.
asserted
people → know → time
The cost of dental treatment is high in Australia and the public system is overwhelmed, making it difficult to get help or a lesson.
asserted
it → overwhelm → help
“Many people have never been shown what to do,” Terry said.
asserted
Terry → show → what
“Even the advertisements from dental companies in the 1980s and 1990s did not depict accurately how to do it properly.”
asserted
advertisements → depict → it
To show the plaque build-up, after brushing teeth in the morning, by 6pm, young oral health therapists with beautifully cared-for teeth who work in private practice and at Sydney University with Terry used disclosing tablets.
asserted
who → show → tablets
Within 30 seconds in the mouth, these tablets highlight new plaque in pink, and where it is old and harder to remove, purple.
asserted
it → highlight → pink
Even those with the best and whitest teeth who’d brushed that morning had a pink tinge.
asserted
who → brush → tinge
Terry said that oral health experts’ new goal was putting the mouth back into health: “The mouth is connected to the rest of the body.”
asserted
mouth → say → body
Sickness in one part of the body affects the mouth, and vice versa.
asserted
Sickness → affect → mouth
Anaerobic bacteria in the mouth have been linked to osteoporosis, premature birth in women and diabetes.
asserted
bacteria → link → women
“Where someone has died of a heart attack, and they’ve actually analysed the clot contained in the actual blood vessel, they’ve found oral bacteria from gum disease in these areas,” he said.
asserted
he → die → areas
Teeth-brushing 101
If you use a manual brush: Err on the side of a gentle brush with a small head.
asserted
you → use → head
If using an electric brush, the approach will depend on the type.
asserted
approach → use → type
The problem is not the time spent brushing teeth, or the number of times a day that someone brushes their teeth, but other factors.
asserted
someone → spend → teeth
Some brush with a sawing horizontal motion, pushing too hard.
asserted
Some → brush → motion
Others use a hard brush that can damage the gums, and many miss the inside of the gums.
asserted
many → use → gums
In another study, young adults were asked to clean their teeth in front of a camera.
asserted
adults → ask → camera
Videos showed that most of them scrubbed, which is not recommended.
asserted
which → show → them
Many people brushed by sawing from side to side (not recommended).
asserted
people → brush → side
“This is a remarkable and disturbing result,” the researchers said.
asserted
researchers → say → ?
Everyone overestimated their oral cleanliness by twofold.
asserted
Everyone → overestimate → twofold
Another study found that parents said their children brushed twice a day, exaggerating what really happened.
asserted
what → find → ?
An oral health report last month by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) found 43 per cent of all children aged five to 14 had a moderate accumulation of plaque.
asserted
cent → find → plaque
One in 10 adults had missing teeth and other dental problems, and one in 25 aged over 15 years of age had lost all their natural teeth.
asserted
one → have → teeth
‘I never brush my teeth in the bathroom.
asserted
I → brush → bathroom
It’s boring.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
’Angelee Murdoch, oral health therapist
AIHW spokesperson Dr Adrian Webster said that without good oral health “a person’s general quality of life and the ability to eat, speak and socialise is compromised, resulting in pain, discomfort and embarrassment”.
asserted
quality → say → pain
The four oral health therapists who participated in this masthead’s test using disclosing tablets said that most people brushed poorly and too quickly.
asserted
people → participate → tablets
- Audrey Wong said teenagers brush for about 30 seconds – “very, very quickly”.
asserted
teenagers → say → seconds
- Cindy Tran said: “There’s clearly a lot of plaque that I can see left behind in the mouth that’s contributing to dental disease like gingivitis, periodontitis, cavities, dental caries.”
asserted
that → say → gingivitis
- Angelee Murdoch didn’t really care where her patients brushed their teeth, preferring them to do it when they had three minutes while watching television, listening to music or walking around.
asserted
they → care → music
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
