Looking after our mouths
The 17th May - 17th June is National Smile Month.
Taking care of our gums and teeth is really important and national smile month brings attention to this.
Humans haven't always brushed their teeth - yuck!
Looking after our teeth and gums is a part of daily life in 2021 but 40 years ago it wasn’t something people did regularly.
These days we are much more educated on caring for our mouths and gums as we do things like brush our teeth and visit the dentist for a check-up.
But why do we have to brush our teeth?
-When we take a bite of our food, little particles stick to our teeth. This creates a thick layer that we call plaque.
-Brushing our teeth gets rid of these food particles but if we don’t brush our teeth we can end up with cavities.
-Cavities is the fancy name for when the food particles we haven’t brushed away start to rot our teeth.
Dentists can fix cavities but sometimes it could mean your teeth fall out!
Did you know the first toothbrush was created in 1857?
Unfortunately, there are some people who don’t have the opportunity to practice good oral health. There are many differences in society that stop people from being able to do so.
Some reasons people may be unable to practice oral health are:
Lack of education
Lack of materials
Lack of money
Mental health conditions
Physical health conditions
We should all have the right to know how to care for our teeth and gums
Who are The Oral Health Foundation?
The Oral Health Foundation provides free educational programmes to parents, carers and teachers.
Donating to the foundation provides dentist appointments to those who can't access them and the opportunity to continue providing free resources and educational material.
Their work has helped over 40, 0000 people suffering from oral health problems.
Visit their official website to learn more and to download their free educational material here;