Students from Years 7 to 10 at Cockburn School had special assemblies led by dental staff from the Smmmile Store Leeds.
Important issues covered in the session were:
- What is oral hygiene and why is it important?
- What toothbrush to use.
- What your oral hygiene routine should be.
- How to reduce your risk of gum problems and decay.
- Energy drinks and their effect on your oral health.
- Vaping and its effect on your oral health.
Here are a few highlights from the presentation:
– Oral hygiene is important not only to reduce risk of decay and gum disease, but to ensure the health of your whole body. Poor oral hygiene can lead to other issues with your general health, such as Alzheimer’s, heart disease, diabetes and more.
– The evidence shows that electric toothbrushing is more effective than manual toothbrushing and therefore reduces your risk of gum disease and decay.
– The areas between the teeth can be cleaned using dental floss or interdental brushes, at least once every day. Single tufted toothbrushes are useful to help clean hard to reach areas such as around braces and wisdom teeth.
– Any time you eat or drink something that isn’t water, it changes the environment in your mouth making it easier for the bacteria to damage the teeth. This is called an acid attack.
– Many energy drinks are high in sugar, they are also often fizzy. Fizzy drinks are very acidic and even if they are sugar free, they can still damage your teeth.
– Vaping can increase you risk of dental problems such as gum disease and decay.
The session ended with the opportunity for students to have a free dental screening which involved having pictures taken of their teeth.
With Halloween around the corner, plenty of care and brushing will be a very good idea!
This post is based on a press release issued by Cockburn School
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