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Water fluoridation – safe, easy, and effective
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to other fluoridation news
24 July 2006
Tongue piercings, acidic drinks and other dental nasties
Damage to teeth caused by trendy oral piercings and increasing consumption of sugary and sports drinks are contributing to a marked decline in the dental health of Australian teenagers.
To help arrest this decline, a new audio-visual documentary Teeth Talk aimed at a teenage audience has been developed by the Australian Dental Association Queensland Branch in conjunction with Queensland Health.
The CD presentation can be viewed as an audio visual documentary in classrooms or dental and medical waiting rooms and is a key initiative of Dental Health Week 2006 (31 July – 4 August).
ADAQ President Robert McCray said Dental Health Week aims to raise awareness about the damage that fashion choices – in the form of trendy drinks, lip and tongue piercings, smoking and “junk” food – can cause to teeth.
“Dentists are seeing increasing dental damage because of the corrosive nature of soft drinks, alcoholic mixes and sports drinks that have high sugar or high acid levels,” Dr McCray said.
“And teenagers need to know that tongue and lip piercings can lead to chipped or cracked teeth because of the continuous rubbing of the metal/plastic against teeth. Injuries to the gum and cheek tissue are also common.”
But the irony for Queensland dentists is that while their southern counterparts are warning that the increased consumption of non-fluoridated bottled water, particularly by teenagers, may be contributing to an increase in decay rates – Queensland dentists are disappointed that most of this state’s teenagers have never had the oral health benefit of water fluoridation.
“Despite high-level medical endorsement about the safety and effectiveness of this public health measure, we still have no action on the fluoridation front in Queensland and no uptake by local councils of the Beattie Government’s 2005 offer to fund the required water treatment infrastructure,” Dr McCray said.
Medical opinion overwhelmingly favours water fluoridation, with medical professionals of the calibre of 2006 Australian of the Year Professor Ian Frazer and 2005 Senior Queensland Australian of the Year Professor John Pearn supporting it as safe and effective on the new ADAQ website www.fluoridationqld.com
“Dental Health Week 2006 (31 July – 4 August) is a very appropriate time to be considering the positive impact that water fluoridation would have in terms of improved long-term oral health outcomes for all Queenslanders.”
Meanwhile, the Teeth Talk presentation CD is available free from the ADAQ and while it is aimed at a teenage audience, it is also suitable for viewing by children and adults. Download an order form via http://www.ada.org.au/Branches/Qld/_Dental_Health_Week.asp or call 07 3252 9866.
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