Oral Health Problems And The Average Nigerian

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Preamble

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Increasing incidence of dental caries otherwise known as tooth decay and periodontal (gum disease) has become a source of worry to experts and the average human being. Reason being that greater percent of all tooth related issues emanate from poor oral hygiene. According to submissions made by experts in a scientific conference on oral health, dental caries is a major oral health problem in most industrialized countries affecting 60 to 90 percent of schoolchildren and the vast majority of adults, while periodontal has been found to be between 79 to 90 percent of the Nigerian population.

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The mouth is the mirror of the body which interprets that oral health is not just about the mouth but it is intertwined with the health of the body. Periodontal disease and tooth decay are the most common tooth diseases in the world and are quite preventable because they are bacterial in origin.

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Causes

Diet and time factor play major roles in development or care for caries. The type of diet taken, especially those with high refined sugar and the time the diet stays in the mouth ate major causes of dental caries. It is best to abstain from such diets or better still, take them with meals.

Normally, we have bacteria in our mouths. The bacteria works on this refined sugar to produce a dilute acid which result in dissolution of hard tooth tissue. Each time we take a lot of all these high refined sugar, it retains as substrate at different corners in our mouth and then the bacteria in our mouth feeds on them to cause havoc. Sometimes, it results in swollen gum which bleeds each time it is touched. Sometimes, tooth decay degenerates to abscess formation which is why people with swollen jaws results from piss forming because of tooth decay which has come down to the base of the tooth.

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Co-habiting with the teeth and gums in every mouth are bacteria that exceed the number of people who live on earth. In every mouth, we have about 6 billion bacteria. And these bacteria are the culprit in teeth decay, periodontal disease and offensive mouth breath. Periodontal disease starts with gingivitis and this is seen as as swollen red and bleeding gum. It leaves when the irritating dental pluck is removed and there is a continuation of good dental hygiene. But periodontal disease where there is pocket formation can be arrested but often the lost tissue are difficult to restore.

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Remedy

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The good news is that dental caries and periodontal diseases are both preventable and treatable. Thus, there is great need to take oral hygiene seriously as this is the easiest solution to oral health problems.
Also, in an attempt to address the specific needs and solve everyday problems of consumers as well as address the needs within the Oral care sector, most dental products manufacturers have rolled out products that impact on healthy lifestyle positively. There is stiff competition as manufacturers compete to deliver superior oral care to consumers and ensure a cavity free Nigeria.