Dental Health Week: Dump the sugary drinks

THE Dental and Healthy Communities teams at Bellarine Community Health are joining forces to share the facts about sugary drinks, water and the health of your teeth.

The Australian Dental Association said 65 per cent of Australians haven’t seen a dentist in the past two years and even more disturbing was that 73 per cent of young people (14-18 years) were consuming too much sugar.

Sugary drinks are soft drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, iced teas, cordials and fruit drinks and 11.2 per cent of Victorians drink sugary drinks every day.

The sugars in these sugary drinks (and in sugary foods) produce bacteria and acid that changes the pH levels in your mouth – making your mouth perfect for tooth decay.

Tooth decay is a common disease in Australia and our eating and drinking habits play a major role in the health of our teeth and the onset of tooth decay.

The Dental and Healthy Communities team at BCH are encouraging people to limit sugary drinks to meal times because the saliva in your mouth when you eat works to protect your teeth from sugars and acids.

BCH Healthy Communities Planner Zoe Taylor said swapping sugary drinks for water was even better.

“A new area of work for the Healthy Communities Team at BCH is to make it easier for people on the Bellarine Peninsula to drink more water and drink less sweet drinks,” Ms Taylor said.

“The first step is to talk to our community about what drives their choice of drinks.

“Over the next couple of months, we will be out and about exploring the pros and cons of water and sweet drinks with community members.”

BCH dental services co-ordinator Melissa Cartledge is encouraging people to brush twice a day and have regular dental check-ups.

Dental Health Week is the Australian Dental Association’s major annual oral health promotion campaign.

Its aim is to educate Australians about the importance of maintaining good oral health in every aspect of their lives.