Tasmanians encouraged to brush up on poor oral health

Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) showed that Tasmania has the worst oral health in the nation, with the highest rates of decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) per person.

Oral health therapist and Dental Hygienist Association state chair Karen Lam said that prevention is always better than a cure when it comes to oral health.

"Many people think dental visits are very costly - and unfortunately, that is a barrier preventing people from regularly visiting an oral health specialist," Ms Lam said.

"But prevention - as studies show - is actually cheaper, less painful and unpleasant, and less time consuming than reactive treatment."

Ms Lam said good oral health is more important than you might realise.

"Within dental plaque, there is a biofilm, which is a community of complex microorganisms, which, when left undisturbed, causes the inflammation associated with a severe form of gum disease (periodontitis) and tooth decay," she said.

"Studies suggest that this might play a role in the progression and advent of some diseases.

"There are links between biofilm and chronic heart diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis, forms of cognitive impairment, like Alzheimer's, and also adverse pregnancies."

Ms Lam said taking care of your oral health is an investment in your overall health.

"There's such a link between our oral health and our general health; it just doesn't make sense to treat them both as separate," she said.

"There is so much evidence out there to suggest that if we were to integrate them, we would have much better health outcomes.

"Good oral and dental hygiene can help prevent bad breath, tooth decay, and gum disease, but it can also help reduce the prevalence of chronic health diseases, which would help our strained healthcare system dramatically."

AIHW researchers found that the average Tasmanian had about 12 DMFT per person, and 31.9 per cent of Tasmanian adults had untreated tooth decay.

Ms Lam said the key to Tasmania improving its oral health status was through education.

"As a state, we need to do more in terms of focusing on educating and prevention, parallel to treatment," she said.

"To reduce these figures in the long term, there needs to be a collaborative effort between not just our dental health professionals but things like GPs, midwives, pharmacists, and the state and federal government.

"There needs to be programs in place that focus on health literacy. If people don't know, they can't be expected to pay attention to their oral health until it is too late."