Dental Health Week (DHW) is the Australian Dental Association’s (ADA) major annual oral health campaign. It takes place annually in the primary full week of August. In 2022, DHW will run from 1 to 7 August.
The campaign focuses on the importance of taking steps to take care of your teeth and gums to assist you to maintain your teeth and smile for all times, using 4 key messages which aim to bolster the importance of fine oral health:
1) Brush your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste
2) Clean between your teeth each day using floss or interdental brushes
3) Eat a healthy, balanced weight-reduction plan and limit added sugar intake
4) Visit the dentist often for check-ups and preventive care.
A DHW resource kit has been developed which comprises a DHW event handbook, images and animations to be used on social media, together with posters, colouring-in activities, decorative bunting and t-shirt art for printing.
There are also specific First Nations resources which feature Indigenous artwork commissioned by the ADA.
ADA’s oral health education podcast, Watch Your Mouth, includes easy to grasp oral health information that could be listened to on-the-go. The primary series focuses on infant and young child oral health, hosted by Jimmy Rees, aka Jimmy Giggle from Giggle and Hoot.
ADA’s children storybook Guardians of the Gums, created along with BeeHealthy Stories and SugarByHalf, tells the battle faced by the Guardians of the Gums as they protect the teeth from sugar and bacteria.
Read the free e-book HERE. Read the free early childhood e-book HERE.
“It shouldn’t be normal to expect that you have to to have some teeth removed due to tooth decay or gum disease. In any case, you don’t expect to lose an arm or leg, so why expect to lose any of your teeth?” an ADA spokesperson said.
“Australians should expect to maintain their teeth for his or her lifetime and by following the steps listed above, they’ll reach this goal.”
For more information, click through the teeth.org.au website to search out trustworthy and up-to-date oral health advice written by dentists from around Australia.