Geneva, 19 January 2015 - As World Oral Health Day (WOHD) 2015 approaches, FDI World Dental Federation is advising people to consider the impact of frequent sugar consumption on their ‘Smile for Life’.
Dental caries is the most common non-communicable disease in the world. Research has demonstrated that sugars are the main cause of tooth decay (holes in your teeth).
When you eat or drink something sugary, the bacteria in the plaque (the sticky film that keeps forming on your teeth) feeds on the sugar and releases acid that attacks teeth for about one hour. Frequent consumption of sugar allows prolonged acid ‘attacks’, weakening the protective outer layer of the teeth.
Speaking about this process, Dr Jaime Edelson, Chair of the FDI World Oral Health Day Task team, commented: ‘Sugar reacts with bacteria in the mouth, which together form an acid that damages the enamel. When this keeps happening, a hole is formed in the tooth, which then requires filling and may over time lead to an extraction. By paying close attention to how often we are consuming sugary foods and drinks, the number of acid attacks on our teeth can be reduced.’
WOHD is an opportunity for FDI to draw attention to proven oral care behaviours that people can adopt to protect their teeth –for life. These include brushing twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste, cutting down consumption of sugary[1] foods and drinks between meals and chewing sugar-free gum after meals and snacks when on-the-go and brushing is not feasible.
FDI President Dr Tin Chun Wong commented: ‘World Oral Health Day 2015, “Smile for life!” and has a double meaning - lifelong smile and celebrating life. Smiling implies self-confidence and having fun, as people only smile if they are happy and have a healthy life. Please take the time to consider your oral health and bring a smile to everyone around you.’
FDI supports the World Health Organization’s guidelines on reducing sugar consumption, based on evidence of its association with dental caries and obesity.
About FDI
FDI World Dental Federation serves as the principal representative body for more than 1 million dentists worldwide, developing health policy and continuing education programmes, speaking as a unified voice for dentistry in international advocacy, and supporting member associations in global oral health promotion activities. FDI is in official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO) and is a member of the World Health Professionals Alliance (WHPA).
For more information, visit: www.fdiworldental.org
About World Oral Health Day
World Oral Health Day is celebrated every year on 20th March. The theme of World Oral Health Day 2015 is ‘Smile for life’. It reflects the major contribution oral health makes to our lives. Around the world, FDI member dental associations, schools, companies and other groups will celebrate the day with events organized under this single, unifying and simple message.
For more information, visit: www.worldoralhealthday.org
World Oral Health Day 2015 partners
LISTERINE® brand Mouthwash, part of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies
As the world’s number one daily mouth rinse, LISTERINE® Mouthwash has been used by more than one billion people in more than 85 countries. Professional dental organizations around the world have awarded LISTERINE® Mouthwash with their seals of acceptance.
LISTERINE® is distributed by Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc., a part of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies, which is the world’s sixth-largest consumer health company and is a segment of Johnson & Johnson, the world’s most comprehensive and broadly based manufacturer of health care products. For more information, visit the Johnson & Johson Web site at www.jnj.com
Unilever
Unilever is a leading global manufacturer of oral care products, such as toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash, represented by brands including Signal, Pepsodent, Mentadent, Aim, P/S, Zhong Hua and Close Up. Unilever believes that good oral health is a vital element for people to look good, feel good and get more out of life and uses its oral care brands to encourage children and their parents to brush in the morning and at night using fluoride toothpaste. Through its science, products, partnerships and international network, Unilever is privileged with the power to make a sustainable and measurable improvement to oral health around the world. For more information, visit the Unilever Web site at www.unilever.com
Henry Schein
Henry Schein, Inc. is the world's largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, animal health and medical practitioners. A Fortune 500®[2] Company and a member of the NASDAQ 100®[3] Index (NASDAQ Ticker: HSIC), Henry Schein employs more than 17,000 Team Schein Members and serves more than 800,000 customers. Headquartered in Melville, N.Y., Henry Schein has operations or affiliates in 28 countries. Through Henry Schein Cares, the Company’s global corporate social responsibility program, Henry Schein helps expand access to health care for underserved and at-risk communities around the world. For more information, visit the Henry Schein Web site at www.henryschein.com
Wrigley Oral Healthcare Program
WOHP partners with dental professionals worldwide, helping them improve their patients’ oral health through one extra simple and enjoyable step in their daily routine: chewing sugar-free gum after eating and drinking on-the-go. WOHP supports independent clinical research into the benefits of chewing gum, including saliva stimulation, plaque acid neutralization and tooth strengthening. For more information, visit: www.wrigleyoralcare.com
[1] To find out how much sugar a product contains, check the list of ingredients: the higher up the list sugar is, the more there is in the product. Sometimes, on labels, sugar is called fructose, glucose, lactose or sucrose. Consumption of snacks and drinks with high sugar content between meals should be minimized.
[2] The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies incur. The list includes publicly and privately held companies for which revenues are publicly available. The first Fortune 500 list was published in 1955.
[3] The NASDAQ Stock Market, commonly known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. NASDAQ originally stood for National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations. It is the second-largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalization, after the New York Stock Exchange. The exchange platform is owned by NASDAQ OMX Group, which also owns the OMX stock market network.
