Taiwanese doctors advise good oral hygiene for health, interpersonal relationships

台灣醫生建議保持良好的口腔衛生以促進健康和人際關係

'Chewing sugar-free chewing gum has been proved to be able to reduce incidence of tooth decay by 28% and amount of bacteria associated with dental cavities,' Dr Yao-Hui Huang says


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Dental professionals in Taiwan on Tuesday (March 14) urged the public to practice good oral hygiene that is widely linked to good physical and mental health, according to research, ahead of World Oral Health Day.

Oral disease tops the list of over 300 common diseases, according to a World Health Organization research paper this year, with 3.5 billion people around the world believed to suffer from oral diseases. Among them, 57.1% have tooth decay in permanent teeth, 20% have gum disease, 14.6% have cavities in baby teeth, and 8.8% suffer total tooth loss.

Vice President of the Association of Family Dentistry, Yao-Hui Huang (黃耀慧), said oral diseases are not only linked to chronic diseases but will also affect the state of mental health as the impairment of oral functionality can lead to anxiety or the loss of confidence stemming from troubles communicating and socializing with people. The cost of bad oral health to a nation could be huge as it usually ends up with lower productivity from multiple hospital trips, financial losses and time.

Huang advised good oral hygiene practices to improve the quality of life, including regular oral health checks, brushing teeth in the mornings and evenings with a toothpaste that has a concentration of 1,000 ppm or more of fluoride ions, using toothpicks or dental floss if necessary, and chewing sugar-free chewing gum after meals.

Taking sugar-free chewing gum has been proven to be able to reduce the incidence of tooth decay by 28% and the amount of bacteria associated with dental cavities, according to research papers published by Frontier in Oral Health, BMC Oral Health, and JDR Clin Trans Res among others, he added.

"Through proper methods of persistently cleaning and maintaining dental health, you can have a healthy life with quality and good interpersonal relationships," Huang said.