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Supertooth and the Good food Friends is a voluntary community group that anyone can register to help share information that helps prevent tooth decay, our most common disease affecting every family including 11 million Australians every year. 

Dental health week is in August but to give schools plenty of time to have a personal tooth care project in each class, Supertooth and Good Food Friends suggest any week in August. 

To make it more fun and reach the wider community, Supertooth suggests each student uses the social media to show what they are doing to understand acid demineralisation and saliva and fluoride or other remineralisation.

 Tooth decay is our most common disease affecting every family including over eleven million Australians each year yet is easy to understand and prevent.

Cavities are formed after years of acid demineralisation that exceeds saliva and fluoride remineralisation, where food is left on teeth after eating and carbohydrate like sugar is changed to acid by plaque bacteria. 

We brush our teeth at least twice a day to remove plaque and help fluoride toothpaste remineralise and toughen demineralised tooth surfaces, but, brushing, saliva and fluoride cannot reach between teeth and inside pits and fissures on chewing surfaces where food is trapped under chewing pressure and remineralisation is less than demineralisation, especially inside pits and fissures on chewing surfaces where over 80% of cavities occur.

To see where plaque is in teeth, Supertooth suggests that student ask their parents for half a teaspoon of red or blue food dye to swish around the mouth and spit out. Then look in the mirror at gum margins and take a photo to see any plaque where carbohydrate like sugar is changed to acid that demineralises tooth but saliva has easy access to remineralise those easy to see and brush surfaces.

The photo can be posted on the internet social media like Facebook as a class group. If the students don’t have access to the internet they may be able to get help from a friend or the school facilities.

Supertooth suggests ways of reducing demineralisation by reducing the frequency of consuming acid forming food and drink, particularly between meals. Choose healthy low carb, low fat snacks, fruit or veg like celery and low fat cheese. 

Also increasing remineralisation by chewing sugarless gum after eating. However fibre like celery is better to force saliva into trapped food between teeth and inside pits and fissures to dilute carbohydrate like sugar, neutralise any acid and remineralise demineralised tooth. 

Flossing or removing food from between teeth before brushing will increase fluoride access and remineralisation between teeth.

We hope this is of interest to your school because there is a need to improve oral health promotion as recommended by recent health reform reports like ‘A healthier future for all Australians’ (item 86) 

Avoid eating acid forming food like sugar as a snack or just before meals. Click Here to watch the video: Supertooth Fissure Sealant

 

The animated chewing process shows how food (red) is forced between teeth and inside pits and fissures on chewing surfaces generally displacing trapped food from previous meals or snacks that have been changed and are easy to remove. The blue represents saliva from chewing fibre like celery after eating to dilute neutralise acid and remineralise teeth.