National Smile Month is all about promoting the importance of good oral hygiene and for us its especially important that our patients are able to maintain this throughout their treatment.
We have a Tooth Brushing Clinic which is run by Jilly, one of our Orthodontic Nurses who also has the role of Oral Health Educator. The clinic is aimed at patients who are already wearing braces but are struggling with their oral hygiene. Patients are given a refresher regarding the correct method of tooth brushing particularly whilst wearing fixed appliances. The session may also include information about poor dietary habits, for example most of us know that Coke is bad for our teeth but did you know that flavoured Volvic water has 5.75 cubes of sugar in it? And the maximum daily allowance for a child aged 4-6 is 5 cubes of sugar a day.
Many of us are unaware of, or confused by the sugar content in our diets. We believe we are offering our children a healthier option by giving them a fruit smoothie over a fizzy drink but the reality is that these are often on par in terms of sugar content.
We've recently gone a little bit crazy in the staffroom at lunchtimes with a new App - Change4Life Sugar smart. If your lunch/dinner comes in packaging containing a barcode it allows you to scan this and provides you with details of the sugar content. We've been shocked at some of the high levels of sugar and many of us have started making adjustments to our snack choices.
If you'd like more information about National Smile Month please visit www.nationalsmilemonth.org/
