DENTAL Health Week (DHW) is the Australian Dental Association’s major annual oral health campaign.
It takes place each year in the first full week of August.
The campaign focuses on the importance of taking steps to care for your teeth and gums to help you keep your teeth and smile for life.
This year, DHW is focusing on the mouth and whole-body connection.
There are links between diseases in the mouth and diseases in the body.
Bacteria in the mouth can travel to different sites of the body and inflammation in the mouth can increase the body’s overall inflammation.
Six conditions have been explored in how they link with the mouth.
Heart disease: Evidence has shown that periodontitis is associated with significant sub-clinical atherosclerosis.
Diabetes: The causal and bi-directional link between type II diabetes and periodontitis is well established. Type II diabetes is known to affect and be affected by periodontitis. Management of either disease improves the progression and outcome of the other.
Alzheimer’s Disease: Links between periodontitis and neurodegenerative conditions have been determined, with periodontal pathogens identified in amyloid plaques. Evidence is still emerging but is already sufficient to indicate that monitoring and management of oral health diseases is a modifiable risk factor in patients with neurodegenerative diseases.
Adverse pregnancy outcomes: There is early evidence supporting the association between periodontitis and adverse pregnancy outcomes including preterm birth, low birth weight and preeclampsia.
Lung conditions: Periodontitis and respiratory diseases share common risk factors including smoking, obesity, and diabetes. There is early evidence supporting the association between periodontitis and some common respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, obstructive sleep apnoea and COVID-19.
Inflammatory bowel disease: Early evidence indicates there is a link between periodontitis and inflammatory bowel diseases in that they both share a common pathophysiology and the disease outcomes are worse when both conditions are present in an individual.
It should not be normal to expect that you will need to have some teeth removed because of tooth decay or gum disease.
After all, you do not expect to lose an arm or leg, so why expect to lose any of your teeth?
Australians should aim to keep their teeth for their lifetime.
If you have not visited the dentist recently it is a great time to make an appointment.
A visit to your dentist for face-to-face advice is the best way to have your questions answered.
Make an appointment at an accredited practice to see one of the dentists, who will be able to help you navigate your dental health and work with you so you can be the healthiest version of yourself.
