LOCAL health professionals met with members of the La Trobe Rural Health School in Kerang on Thursday to discuss the outcomes of the Rural Engaging Communities in Oral Health project.
The visit from child oral health specialist Professor Mark Gussy and his team coincided with Dental Health Week, from August 1 to 7.
Professor Gussy and his team have been working with Gannawarra Shire Council and other health providers over the past three years on the oral health project, which was a trial that also ran in a Queensland municipality.
Stage two of the project included the implementation of an oral health plan developed for the Gannawarra Shire community.
“That has been going very well; there have been all sorts of activities, including oral health screening at local schools and kindergartens by Dental Health Services Victoria and the Royal Flying Doctor Service, the launch of a new dental health services brochures and oral health training for local health professionals,” he said.
“This was a test to see whether this would be a useful way to go about improving our oral health and we think it has been.”
Professor Gussy said it was important to continue the conversation with the broader community to educate people to improve their own oral health.
“Most common oral diseases are almost totally preventable,” he said.
“Brushing teeth twice a day, eating healthy foods, consuming water as the drink of choice and seeking early intervention through regular dental check-ups is proven to prevent tooth decay in its early stages.”
“There is also a clear relationship between oral health and general health, with poor oral health causing disability, pain and suffering, eating and speech difficulties and being significantly associated with major chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and mental health issues.”
Mr Gussy said parents had a responsibility to look after their children’s teeth and teach them about oral health.
“If you have poor oral health as a child, you will have poor oral health as an adult,” he said.
Mr Gussy said people should not be deterred from consuming fluoridated water.
“The risk of fluorosis is far outweighed by the risks of dental decay; would people rather a tooth with a white spot or no tooth at all,” he said.
Council community wellbeing director Mandy Hutchinson said the Rural Engaging Communities in Oral Health Project had raised awareness and assisted local health agencies to work together to help tackle poor oral health outcomes.
“The local statistics are concerning,” she said.
“We are trying to turn these statistics around by engaging our communities in conversations around their oral health and providing targeted education on good oral health habits particularly through early childhood services and local primary schools.”
Colgate is also supporting a Big Smiles for Gannawarra program with toothpaste, toothbrushes and oral health information distributed through council services.
