We live in a frantically busy world.
Recognising this, the ADA’s adopted the tagline, “Oral Health for Busy Lives” as the tagline for its flagship oral health promotion campaign, Dental Health Week in 2017 encouraging time poor Aussies to make the necessary space in their packed schedules for brushing, flossing, eating well and seeing their dentist regularly.
A recent survey conducted by the Oral Health Foundation in the UK shows that people on the other side of the world are admitting to much the same time pressures and acknowledging that one of the first things to go is attentiveness to their oral health.
In fact, 22% of respondents admitted that, face with being late for work, they ditch brushing their teeth while a quarter of Brits said they will forgo brushing their teeth before bed if they get in late.
While Dr Nigel Carter OBE, CEO of the Oral Health Foundation acknowledged that “It would be easy to suggest these findings represent the demands of 21st century life”, he goes to say that “there really is no defence for overlooking your health.”
Echoing a similar message by the ADA in 2017, he stressed that people need to make time to take care of their oral health because it is so inextricably linked to their overall wellbeing.
This survey, and similar ones carried out by the ADA, indicate that the wider community is not prioritising oral healthcare in the way it should, something the ADA will once again tackle this year in Dental Health Week when it asks people, supported by evidence in Australia’s Oral Health Tracker, “How is Your Oral Health Tracking?”
