Motherly Love Summer 2021

HEALTH oral care
New global research
released earlier this
year has revealed
that parents are not
being the best possible examples to
their children when it comes to oral
care, with day and night brushing in
the morning and evening emerging
as an unlikely casualty of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The research, conducted by
toothpaste brand Mentadent P,
showed that while lockdowns
prompted people across the world to
reprioritise their attitudes and
behaviours to health and well-being,
this positive shift unfortunately did
not translate into better oral care—a
cornerstone of physical healthcare.
In fact, the opposite occurred;
some negative habits have crept in,
with good, familiar habits like
brushing twice a day decreasing
among parents and their children.
The research highlights that children
mirror parents’ behaviours at a
detriment to their own health.
Children are seven times more likely
to skip brushing if their parent does
not brush day and night.
Some of the shock results included:
• Fewer people are brushing twice a
day in comparison to two years ago,
with a 5% drop in adults and an 11%
drop in children.
• 1 in 4 (26%) children are not
brushing their teeth day and night,
and 40% of adults have reported
going entire days without brushing
their teeth.
• Two in every three respondents
said they weren’t worried about
their oral health.
• While nearly three-quarters said
they had tooth-related problems
during the pandemic, seven of every
10 affected failed to visit the dentist.
Among the respondents who reported
experiencing oral health issues since
the onset of the pandemic, the top five
complaints included bleeding gums
and teeth during brushing or flossing
(30%); teeth, gum or mouth pain
(30%); dry mouth (25%); general bad
breath (25%); and trouble eating due to
oral pain (21%).
Parents also admitted to being
more relaxed with their children’s
oral health habits; three in five, or
61%, said they allowed their children
to eat sugary foods before going to
bed. One in three, or 35%, confessed
to rewarding their children with a
promise that they wouldn’t have to
brush their teeth. Concerns have also
been raised over long lockdown
periods during which only
emergency dentistry was permitted,
with less access to regular checkups
contributing to poor oral hygiene.
Prominent dentist Dr Bongiwe
Nhlangulela, better known as Dr Bee,
prioritises the oral health of her
young patients and warns parents of
the universal truth: that children
copy their parents. “We know that
COVID-19 has significantly disrupted
our world in unprecedented ways,
but the basics of dental care still
apply, pandemic or not.
“We have to remember that most
things in dentistry are preventable,
so it’s critical for every one of us—
and parents have a particular
responsibility—to drive the
educational message around
prevention, to see these actions
applied in our daily lives,” she adds.
Dr Bee’s tips for optimal oral health
are:
• Brush your teeth day and night, for
about two minutes.
• Use a fluoride toothpaste and a
soft-bristled toothbrush.
• Hold your toothbrush at a slight
angle, aim the bristles toward the
area where your teeth meet your
gums, and brush gently with
circular back-and-forth motions.
Don’t brush too hard or you could
damage your gums.
• Always rinse your toothbrush with
clean water after brushing, then
stand it upright to air dry.
• Keep it separate from the
toothbrushes of other family
members to prevent contamination.
• Daily flossing will help you reach
the bacteria in those tight spaces
between your teeth and under the
gum line, adding an extra layer of
oral healthcare.
• Develop better oral care routines
for the family by brushing together,
day and night, with your children to
help build habits that stick.
Dr Bee is a family dentist based in
Johannesburg, at her practice called
Dr B Nhlangulela Inc.
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