Brush your teeth, brighten your smile!

Suad Ali al Alawi -

From the time she was a child, Mashael al Saadi loved to eat sweets — toffees, candies, or chocolates. Her favourite time of eating was after dinner, before she went to sleep.

“I wouldn’t listen to anyone when they told me not to eat sweets,” she rues. The sugar intake caused bacteria to proliferate in her mouth resulting in caries in her teeth. As a result, this student of Sur CAS has been a regular visitor to the dentist from childhood.

Many people in society suffer from a lack of awareness about keeping their teeth clean, resulting in oral hygiene problems.

Dr Asila al Salty, Head of the Dental Department of Government Hospitals in South Al Sharqiyah Governorate, offers some advice: “People should brush two to three times a day after food. They should use dental floss to remove food stuck between the teeth and use mouthwash twice a week to kill oral bacteria.”

She cautions that the steps of cleaning the teeth should be done correctly to avoid problems of inflammation and gum disease, like gingivitis.

Some foods, like sugar, promote the growth of bacteria in the mouth, which in turn damage the enamel covering of teeth, leading to cavities and caries, and possibly to a lifetime of painful teeth.

In order to avoid dental problems, the World Health Organization urges people to adopt regular, healthy diets with a reduced intake of sugar. It recommends eating more vegetables and fruits; to stop smoking and taking soft drinks and to visit the dentist every six months as a preventive step.

Sometimes, a lack of dental care can lead to serious diseases. Dr Eman al Araimi, general dental surgeon in Sur city, said, “Studies show that bacteria accumulates in the mouth. Chronic gingivitis may contribute to causing Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease as bacteria enter the bloodstream and reach the heart, causing inflammation in the internal membrane of the heart, or reach the brain leading to the killing of cells in it.”

Clean teeth and a beautiful smile are a reflection of a healthy body. Ameera al Marzouqi, a mother of three, knows this. She said: “From the time they were two years old, I began to teach my children how to clean their teeth. Now, they clean their teeth after every meal. I also told them a story about a boy who lost his teeth because he ate too many sweets. So now, they eat fewer sweets.”

Mashael now wishes she had heeded her parents and friends when she was younger. “I recently had to have some teeth taken out, and I have many cavities. I visit the dentist regularly, but sugar has been my undoing,” she says with regret.

Dr Eman al Araimi also cautions people against resorting to bleaching or whitening of teeth as the chemicals used can cause inflammation of the gums, sensitivity of the teeth to hot and cold foods and drinks and roughness of the teeth leading to attachment of bacteria. This is essentially due to the chemicals eroding the protective enamel covering of the teeth.