Dental caries is still common in all over the World. The incidence of caries for the people as a whole has reduced over the past decades, mainly due to:
• Improving nutrition,
• Supplying fluoridated water
• Increased dental hygiene
There are still large numbers of small children and adults who experience caries and a lot of older adults experience periodontal disease. Of particular concern is caries in very young children - referred to as nursing bottle tooth decay. This mainly occurs as a result of babies and toddlers being given a bottle filled with sweets to pacify them, or a dummy that has been dipped in syrup or honey. Children younger 18 months suffer tooth decay.
Optimal health through food variety and physical activity:
• Perfect oral health is necessary for prevention dental caries and to achieve normal growing and development of the oral cavity (mouth) and teeth.
• Oral health depends heavily on nutritional status and dental hygiene; therefore it is very important to eat a wide variety of foods every day and to clean teeth just after eating.
• Healthy teeth and a mouth make eating more effective and enjoyable.
Tooth care, one and the same for everybody:
• Clean your teeth just after eating, especially after eating sweet foods such as cakes, biscuits, jams.
• Fresh fruit and vegetables to stimulate the flow of saliva and help to clean food debris from the mouth.
• Cheese is a 'tooth friendly' which helps to cover teeth enamel.
• Sticky sweet foods, potato chips, biscuits and raisins as between meal snacks is not good. • Have your teeth and gums checked regularly.
• Healthy Eating Pyramid is a best way to eat.
• Maintain thorough dental hygiene.
Cariogenic foods - Sweet and acid foods cause dental caries.
• Examples are cakes, lollies, sweets biscuits, toffees, sweetened cereals, muesli bars, fruits canned in sweetened syrups, acidic fruits such as plums and citrus fruits, jams, coffee and tea with sugar.
• Dried fruit and honey should not be eaten frequently. Although they do not contain added sugars, the natural sugars are very concentrated and sticky and tend to stay on teeth for long periods of time.
• Soft drinks, sport drinks and fruit juice drinks, particularly when consumed between meals, can be a major cause of tooth decay, due to their sweetness and acidity.
