Dental Tips: How much sugar is hiding in your trolley?

This year’s Dental Health Week is on 3 – 9 August.

4 Key Messages

The campaign aims to educate Australians on the importance of maintaining optimum oral health by promoting four key messages:

• Brushing at least twice every day with a fluoride-containing toothpaste.
• Cleaning between your teeth once daily using floss or interdental brushes.
• Maintaining a healthy, balanced diet and limiting your sugary and acidic intake.
• Visiting the dentist regularly for check-ups and preventive care.

This year’s campaign’s primary focus is on the dangers sugar does to one’s oral health, aiming to help Australians ‘get sugar savvy’.

Get Sugar Savvy!

This includes recommended daily sugar consumption levels, advice on checking food labels, and spells out the effect sugar has on our teeth.

This information is supported by three main sugar messages:

• Avoid consuming foods and beverages with added sugars.
• Opt for foods with less than 10g of sugar per 100g.
• Look out for hidden sugars when buying foods and drinks.

These important messages will be reinforced through the tagline: ‘How much sugar is hiding in your trolley?’, which draws on the concept of hidden sugars and checking food labels to make healthy choices.

Making healthy choices at the supermarket means making similar smart food and drink choices at home.

Refusing to buy an unhealthy item in the supermarket means you don’t have to continue saying ‘no’ at home.

As tempting as it is to think that everyone is practising good oral health, the reality is that many Australians’ oral health is not near where it should be.

• Less than 50% of Australian adults have had a dental check-up in the last 12 months.
• 53% of Australians brush their teeth only once a day.
• Nearly 40% of Australians never floss or clean between their teeth.
• 73% of young people are consuming too much sugar.
• 47% of adults are consuming too much sugar.

There are several ways to access sugar information as part of Dental Health Week this year.

A visit to your trusted Cheltenham dentist is great for one-on-one advice where your questions and concerns can be addressed.

Complete Dental Care in Cheltenham!

Captivate Dental is conveniently located in Cheltenham near Brighton (near Kingston City Hall and Cheltenham Station).

We provide the highest quality care and enable patients to make informed choices. Our competent, caring staff provides value through excellent diagnostic skills and efficient use of the best quality materials.

Captivate Dental offers a wide variety of preventative and cosmetic dental treatment for kids, seniors, and everyone between!

For more information, call us on (03) 9553 1249. Visit us on the web, or use our convenient online booking page.

We are located at 36 Chesterville Road in Cheltenham.