The most common dental problem is dental caries. The direct cause of dental caries is the loss of minerals in teeth. Everyone has bacteria in his mouth more or less. If there are raw materials needed for their growth in the mouth, they will grow in large quantities. In the process of growth, organic acids will be produced, which will corrode teeth.
The raw material for the growth of these bacteria is sugar in the diet. The sugar here is not only sucrose in daily life, but also sugar in the chemical sense-glucose, fructose, sucrose, small molecular syrup and other sugars that can be transformed by bacteria. There have been many studies, including animal experiments and human epidemiological surveys. Most of the results show that sugar intake is directly related to the occurrence of dental caries. Low-income countries and regions have low per capita sugar consumption and low incidence of dental caries. With the development of economy and the increase of sugar consumption, the incidence of dental caries in middle-income countries is relatively high. Some studies have further found that dental caries is not only related to the total sugar intake, but also related to the number of times of eating sugar every day. Especially eating sugar during non-meal time has a greater impact on the occurrence of dental caries.
Interestingly, in high-income countries, the incidence of dental caries has dropped again. According to investigation and analysis, people in high-income countries spend more on tooth protection, which is mainly related to the measures of adding fluoride to water. Fluorine exists widely in nature, and the content of fluorine in natural water sources varies greatly. The effect of fluoride content in drinking water on dental health has also been studied a lot. It is generally believed that drinking water containing a certain amount of fluoride can effectively prevent dental caries. However, excessive fluoride can lead to so-called "dental fluorosis" in children with developing teeth. Mild symptoms are not obvious, and severe ones will have black or brown spots and even cracked teeth.
In many areas of the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Australia, a certain amount of fluorine will be added to drinking water. In some areas, the fluorine content of natural water sources is too high, which will "defluorinate". In a word, fluorine in drinking water remains at a certain level. Their authorities believe that it is this measure of adding fluoride to water that greatly reduces the incidence of dental caries in the whole society.
However, there are many controversies about this policy. Many countries in the world have not implemented it. On the one hand, although the cost of adding fluorine is very low, it is difficult to grasp the "moderate amount" and "excessive amount" of fluorine. If it is not well controlled, it is "doing bad things with good intentions." On the other hand, dental caries itself is not a serious "disease", and the consequences are not serious. Adding "chemicals" such as "fluorine" to water is psychologically unacceptable to many people. There are also many people who worry that fluoride will corrode bones and bring other hazards, so the "benefits" of fluoride have no outstanding advantages compared with the "potential risks", so let it be.
The formulation of public policies is often restricted by many factors other than science. Although fluoride in water has statistical support for reducing the incidence of dental caries, it is beneficial from the perspective of social cost. However, for the public, this "benefit" is difficult to achieve. For example, even if fluoride is added to reduce the incidence of dental caries from 3% to 1%, most people will not get dental caries whether fluoride is added or not, and some people will still get dental caries if fluoride is added. However, if fluoride is added, some people will have dental fluorosis (the occurrence of dental fluorosis may be due to excessive fluoride intake in other ways). Even if the incidence rate is very low, such as one in 100,000, there are dozens of people in cities with millions of people, which is enough to make the feeling that fluoride in water is harmful to health deeply rooted in people's hearts. The resulting doubts and objections are unbearable for the makers and executors of public decisions.
Understandably, measures such as fluoridation of tap water are unlikely to become public decisions in China. For individuals, the practical way to prevent dental caries through fluoride is to use fluoride toothpaste. Another feasible measure is chewing sugar-free gum. Sugar-free chewing gum uses sweeteners to produce sweetness. They are not sugars themselves and will not be transformed by bacteria, so they will not increase the risk of dental caries. The US Food and Drug Administration adopted a "health statement" in 1998, allowing manufacturers to use propaganda words such as "Eating sugar will increase the risk of dental caries, but the substance XX used to produce sweetness will not increase this risk".
Besides sugar, all kinds of soft drinks with high acidity, including fruit juice, will have a certain corrosive effect on teeth. Of course, drinks like fruit juice have many positive effects on health besides "delicious". Whether to give up for its "possible harm" to teeth is another question of weighing the pros and cons. Fortunately, the research literature believes that eating whole fruit has no obvious effect on teeth.
Whether a person has dental caries is also influenced by many other factors. Comprehensive and balanced nutrition is fundamental, and good oral hygiene habits, such as frequent brushing and gargling, are effective means. (Science Squirrel Club/Feed)
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In order to educate the public about the prevention and treatment of oral diseases, enhance their oral health concept and self-awareness of oral health care, help the public to establish oral health habits, and then improve the oral health level of the whole nation, the Ministry of Health, the Education Commission and other ministries and commissions jointly signed 1989, and designated September 20th of each year as "national love teeth day".
The aim of national love teeth day is to widely mobilize social forces, popularize the knowledge of dental disease prevention among the masses, and enhance the concept of oral health and self-awareness of oral health care.
Dental caries and periodontal disease are common and frequently-occurring diseases that endanger the oral health of China population, and they are also the most common oral diseases that endanger the healthy growth of children and adolescents. However, the manpower, material resources and financial resources of oral health care are very limited. Therefore, the fundamental way to solve the problem of dental diseases lies in prevention.