Recently, we came across a report issued by the Canadian Dental Association, in 2017, which looked at a variety of factors related to oral health around the globe as compared to right here at home. It was an interesting read. (At least for a Dentist that is!) While you might not want to read the lengthy report in its entirety – there were some interesting facts we thought might appeal to our Brinkley Dental audience. It’s always a pleasure to share information with our readers and we have spent many a blog talking about things like; tooth fairy myths from around the world, oral health and how it relates to your physical health, technological advancements in dental hygiene and all things “tooth related.” In keeping with our ongoing tradition of sharing, we hope you’ll find today’s “did you know” summary of this 2017 report an informative one!
Before we get to that however, we found the following information to be of particular interest: Did you know that oral health has actually been defined by WHO, the World Health Organization? It is considered “a state of being free from mouth and facial pain, oral and throat cancer, oral infection and sores, periodontal (gum) disease, tooth decay, tooth loss and other diseases and disorders.” Further, oral health is also defined as “multi-faceted and includes the ability to speak, smile, smell, taste, touch, chew, swallow and convey a range of emotions through facial expressions with confidence and without pain, discomfort and disease of the craniofacial complex.” These definitions are in line, in our opinion, with much of what we have been talking about since writing our very first blog – that is, how critically important the link between one’s oral health and overall health really is. Brinkley Dental is proud to play a role in helping families maintain both. Now, on to some interesting facts and statistics!
Did You Know?
- Canada is a world leader in oral health. We rank in the top five countries around the world in terms of “best access to oral health care.”
- World wide – the most common oral health care issue is dental caries – which is to say cavities, or teeth with evidence of decay.
- As many as 2.26 million school days are lost each year in Canada by school – aged children “due to dental related illness.” That’s a lot of missed school!
- For those who work, it is estimated there are as many as 4.15 million lost workdays due to dental issues.
- Even though oral health has been declared a basic human right, more than 70% of the world does not have appropriate and/or affordable access to quality oral health care. Knowing, as we do, the links between oral health and overall health, statistics like these are alarming.
- Better than 80% of Canadians will visit a Dentist at least once every two years. While this statistic is favorable compared with much of the world – do you know how often it’s recommended you see a Dentist? (Hint…..it’s more than once a year!)
- While on the whole Canada compares favorably with other developed countries – we lag behind when it comes to oral health care for indigenous populations – alarmingly so. Having spent time caring for First Nations patients on northern reserves I can speak to this from first hand experience. We have significant room for improvement.
If you are an enquiring type and have the time – we’ve included the link to the report that shared these facts, plus many more. Perhaps it’ll make for a little light bedtime reading, or maybe it’ll just help you fall asleep! Whether you need more information (or more sleep) either way, visit the link if you are so inclined and if you’re not – plan to visit the team at our family friendly Brinkley Dental Office in Brampton instead. We’d love to meet you and as always, we will end this blog as we do all others by reminding you “don’t forget to be a BFF with your mouth and Brush that SMILE!”
https://www.cda-adc.ca/stateoforalhealth/_files/thestateoforalhealthincanada.pdf
