Children Caries
Free For Life
Supertooth
Project 2NDK
An oral health project to end decay
A new 10 year National Oral Health plan has
been developed and promises to prevent tooth decay our most common disease
affecting over eleven million Australians of all ages each year where acid
demineralisation regularly exceeds remineralisation.
Caries incidence like that of 12 year olds has
remained much the same over the last 25 years since fluoridation and the Supertooth
project 2NDK has highlighted evidence based opportunities that can largely end
decay and the Prime Minister’s National Innovation and Science Agenda.
Over eighty percent of cavities occur deep
inside pits and fissures1 where food is trapped2 (X-ray
tomography) and resident plaque bacteria change any carbohydrates like sugar to
acid that demineralises tooth that brushing saliva and fluoride cannot reach to
clean, neutralise acid and remineralise tooth.
Sealants Dentists place over chewing
surfaces block food access and prevent decay, were forced inside pits and
fissures and he tooth dissolved in acid3 leading
to Monash developing a sealant toothpaste tablet to chew before brushing
to block food access, neutralise acid and remineralise all tooth surfaces,
including those brushing cannot reach.
X-ray tomography2 helped make
simple glass models (below) of a fissure that that anyone can use to replicate
how food is trapped and how brushing saliva and fluoride cannot reach to clean,
neutralise acid and remineralise tooth. There are a few basic videos on www.youtube.com/supertoothndk
that help you see how this simple project can help end decay. We hope to have more
professional videos made when new sealant toothpaste tablets and elastomer gum products
are available.
The glass models also show how chewing
celery after eating forces saliva inside trapped food to dilute sugars,
neutralise acid and remineralise tooth much better than sugar free gum that
cannot absorb or expel saliva.
Fast food industries like McDonald’s may
like to add a small stick of celery to meals or snacks to chew after eating and
support the new 10 year National Oral Health Plan and boost their image.
Wouldn’t you like to explore how these points
of difference can better prevent decay and can help the free RMIT data base being
developed to monitor oral health, in which families and individuals can
register to record any fillings inside pits and fissures, between teeth and on
surfaces that are easy to brush and to compare with the average for their post
code, state and the nation.
The data base will also help parents send
baby molar teeth that fall out from children, to the Tooth Fairy Project 2NDK
for examination at the Australian synchrotron to see differences between teeth
from fluoride and non-fluoride areas as well as why some teeth don’t develop
cavities.
The data base is at early stages of
development but you may like to look at
it and offer any thoughts. www.supertoothndk.org.au
