The NobleDentist Blog

This is an interview published recently on the ABC. The reporter was Jennifer Macey.

BRIGID GLANVILLE: A new survey shows that half of all six-year-olds in Australia have tooth decay. The survey was conducted by the University of Adelaide for the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

It found there’s been a five per cent increase in tooth decay in young children, partly due to lack of access to public dental health care. But it’s also found that adding fluoride to the water supply does help in fighting against tooth decay.

Jennifer Macey reports.

JENNIFER MACEY: Every second six-year-old child in Australia has a decayed, missing or filled baby tooth. And on average every 12-year-old has cavities in their adult teeth.

These are the latest findings in a report by the Australian Health and Welfare Institute. The report’s author, Jason Armfield, says there’s been a steady increase in dental disease among children.

JASON ARMFIELD: Since the mid 1990s amongst younger children we’ve seen a steady increase, year by year by year, and we’re also starting to see increases now amongst older children too which is a little bit of a concern. So child oral health in Australia is actually getting worse.

JENNIFER MACEY: Mr Armfield says there’s a strong link between child tooth decay and the socio-economic status of families.

JASON ARMFIELD: Children from lower socio-economic groups generally have poorer exposure to fluorides, they have a higher exposure to sugary foods, poor foods, and they’re also likely to be seeing a dentist less often.

JENNIFER MACEY: The new Federal Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, says the previous government failed to adequately fund public dental health care.

She says the Government has committed $29- million extra into the public dental health care scheme.

NICOLA ROXON: But we’ve also established and are in the process of making sure this can roll out in the new year, a teen dental program which will provide $150 to parents to ensure that their teenagers do go and have a regular, preventative check up, make sure that their teeth are being cared for properly, and to get that information about the way food and drink can affect your teeth, and to make sure they’re being cared for in a way which will prevent these sorts of declining results.

JENNIFER MACEY: But the Australian Dental Association says this won’t be enough to fix the problem.

The Association’s President is Dr. John Matthews.

JOHN MATTHEWS: The dental spend is $5-billion so we’re talking about actually $100-million a year, that $290 is over three years. They’ve also, in the teen dental plan there’s over $500-million again over about four years. So they’re putting about $250-million a year out of $5-billion. It’s not huge but it’s a significant step and if they doubled it I think they could make a huge difference.

JENNIFER MACEY: He says the Government should reintroduce the free dental clinics that used to make the rounds of all primary schools.

JOHN MATTHEWS: School dental service was a fantastic service to the community and we’d love to see it strengthened again. We’ve got a Federal Government who’s talking about helping out in these areas. They’ve got a teen dental plan. So we’d love to see that sort of all go on the table and see that restored to its former glory.

JENNIFER MACEY: The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) also supports the return of the free school dental service.

The council’s President, Lin Hatfield Dodds, says poor oral health in early years often flows through to dental problems in adult life.

LIN HATFIELD DODDS: But we’d also like to see the Government roll out a free preventative course of treatments for adults every two years. We’ve costed that at $800-million from the Commonwealth and matched funding from the States. And when you think about 650,000 people on waiting lists, that’s not a huge investment to address that really serious issue of poor oral health for children and for adults.

This is a dental article published by dentalplans.com.

Tooth decay needs to be treated by a dentist as early as possible. Tooth decay can be caused by several factors; however, if not addressed early on, dental decay can lead to many complications later on, even resulting in tooth loss. One of the most obvious warning signs of tooth decay is a toothache that may go away after some time, but severe tooth decay causes pain that does not go away easily. Other common symptoms of tooth decay include puffiness and inflammation of the gums that cause the mouth to become sore and numb.

Dentists evaluate the best methods and dental treatment techniques when there is risk of tooth decay. In cases where there is extreme decay, you may have to visit an endodontist – a dental specialist that specializes in treating the tooth pulp and infections related to it. Other forms of tooth decay are treated by oral maxillofacial surgeons who can remove decayed teeth and are proficient in performing other kinds of surgeries in the mouth.

Initially, an appointment with the dentist for dental decay treatment involves a thorough dental exam, an evaluation and a discussion of your past dental health. This helps the dentist get an overview of your problem. An examination follows, where the mouth is thoroughly checked with specific dental instruments, tools and other dental equipment such as x-rays. The dental physician looks for areas that have plaque build-up and cavities, since these are signs of tooth decay. Usually, dental decay that cannot be observed by naked eye can be seen through the use of dental x-rays.

The dentist can then analyze the amount of tooth decay and create a treatment plan according to the severity of dental decay. If there are signs of minimal tooth decay, the dentist may suggest that the patient undergo fluoride treatments, as this may be enough to treat the minimal damage that has occurred in the teeth.

Severe tooth decay may lead to formation of holes or cavities in teeth. Your dentist may recommend a tooth filling. A dental filling is applied when part of a decayed tooth has to be restored to its original shape and size. After the tooth decay has been removed, the dentist places filling material to fill in the cavity.

If left untreated, tooth decay can lead to more serious dental problems that require more serious dental treatment plans. Tooth decay in advanced stages may need to be treated with a root canal and dental crown. A crown is an artificial cap used to replace a section of a natural tooth or an entire tooth, depending on the severity of tooth decay. Crowns are used when the damage to the tooth is too severe for a filling to work. However, if the tooth decay has advanced to a degree where the pulp is infected, your dentist will likely suggest root canal treatment, which involves the removal of the tooth pulp.

Complications may arise, if the root of the tooth is damaged. In this case, the dentist may extract the tooth. Preventing tooth decay is therefore extremely important, so that it does not advance to serious stages. Treatment plans to treat tooth decay that are prescribed by your dentist should be followed strictly to make sure that any further dental problems are not experienced.

This is an article that was published recently in Medical News Today.

Griffith University’s School of Dentistry and Oral Health welcomes the Queensland Government’s decision to introduce fluoride into the public drinking water – a measure endorsed by all major international and Australian health bodies as the best way to prevent dental decay.

The decision will ensure that 80 per cent of Queenslanders will be drinking fluoridated water within two years, and more than 90 per cent of the state’s population by 2012.

Associate Professor Jeroen Kroon, an expert in Public Health, Community and Preventative Dentistry, said the decision was long overdue given that other areas of Australia have benefited from fluoridated water for more than 40 years.

“The absence of this essential community-based preventive measure against dental decay has resulted in the oral health status of Queenslanders being much worse than residents in other States and Territories.”

He said Queensland children have up to double the amount of tooth decay compared to the rest of Australia. Dental decay was also up to 65 percent lower in Townsville, a Queensland city which has fluoridated water, than in Brisbane.

“The evidence is overwhelming that major benefits are obtained when tooth surfaces are exposed to fluoride on a daily basis.”

“Fluoridation of drinking water allows fluoride to be taken up by tooth enamel, improve the chemical structure, and create a more resistant surface against acid attack and dental decay,” he said.

He said there was no credible scientific evidence that fluoride causes any adverse health effects when supplied up to the optimum level of one milligram per litre.

“This decision benefits everyone, irrespective of age, culture or income. Water fluoridation provides additional protection against dental decay even for those families already using other fluoride products to protect teeth.”

He said the population benefits of water fluoridation increased with duration of exposure, so the real winners will be the future generations of Queenslanders.

Associate Professor Kroon said maintaining good oral hygiene and nutrition was still essential for oral health and that these preventive measures would be enhanced by the introduction of water fluoridation.

This is an article that was published recently on the news.com.au site.

QUEENSLAND is to join the rest of Australia’s states and territories in adding fluoride to its water supply.

Premier Anna Bligh said the move would tackle the poor condition of Queenslanders’ oral health.

Ms Bligh said 80 per cent of Queenslanders would be drinking fluoridated water within two years, growing to more than 90 per cent by 2012.

“Together with oral hygiene and good nutrition, fluoridation has been proven to reduce tooth decay by up to 40 per cent, and a Smart State cannot ignore the extensive scientific evidence that shows fluoridation is the missing link in Queensland’s oral health system,” Ms Bligh said.

Queensland’s five to 12-year olds had twice the tooth decay compared to children in the ACT, which introduced fluoridation in 1964.

“Research has shown that Queensland six-year olds have nearly 30 per cent more decay in their baby teeth than the national average, with a similar result for permanent teeth in 12-year olds,” Ms Bligh said.

The north Queensland city of Townsville, which has fluoridation, has 65 per cent lower tooth decay rates in children than Brisbane.

The government will spend $35 million on capital works to roll out the program to ensure that more than 90 per cent of Queenslanders would have access to fluoridated water by 2012.

Council water rates would rise by about $1.50 per person each year to cover ongoing operational costs, Ms Bligh said.

“This is a nominal cost when compared to what families could save in dental bills,” Ms Bligh said.

She said the decision was based on scientific evidence, public support, the state of Queenslanders’ oral health, and the timing of the government’s water reforms.

Fluoridation involves a small amount of fluoride being added to top up the natural levels already in water.

This equates to between 0.6 and 0.9 parts of fluoride per million parts of water – roughly equating to one drop in a bathtub of water.

This is an article published recently on the ABC Online news.

Health researchers are warning a shortage in dental academics across Australia has reached a crisis point.

The Association for the Promotion of Oral Health (APOH) says a demand by the states for universities to increase dentistry enrolments has not been supported by funding for additional academics.

The higher volume of students at the University of Sydney has led to the need for summer school classes to get through the requisite practical training.

APOH chairman Hans Zoellner says the the new Labor Government is well aware of how dire the situation is.

“We’re hopeful that dentistry can be part of Mr Rudd’s education revolution,” he said.

“We know that the new Government is well informed about the dental educational problems and we just hope that they’re responsive to our needs.”