Are you brushing your teeth twice a day for two minutes a time?
It would seem that a lot of Australians aren’t. That is according to a new report that also tells us gum disease affects one in five adults, one in six have more than ten teeth missing, more than one third of children between 5 and 6 have tooth decay in their baby teeth and 50% of adults and 25% of children haven’t been to the dentist for a check up for over a year.
This matters because the more unhealthy our mouth is the more unhealthy our entire body will be and in the end that means a greater strain on the health care system. How did it get to this and what, if anything, can be done?
Guests
- Professor John Dwyer
- Emeritus Professor of Medicine, UNSW
Founder, Australian Health Care Reform Alliance
- Lesley Russell
- Adjunct Associate Professor at the Menzies Centre for Health Policy and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies at Georgetown University.
- Further Information: Australia’s Oral Health Tracker
Credits
Presenter: Geraldine Doogue
* Listen to program at http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2018/04/sea_20180407_0745.mp3
*Original article online at http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/saturdayextra/oral-health-in-australia/9622912
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