Parents' role in promoting oral health stressed

PARENTS have the most important role in the fight against dental health diseases as they have the responsibility to constantly guide and supervise the dental habits of their children.

This was emphasised by Dr Mary Cheong Poh Hua, the Head of the Oral Health Promotion Unit in an interview with The Brunei Times yesterday during the certificate presentation ceremony on the "Standardisation of the Tooth-brushing Technique" held at the Health Promotion Centre, Berakas.

"Children themselves are not motivated so it is up to the parents to guide and teach them," said Dr Mary Cheong.

She added that most parents leave it until its too late to start teaching their children on tooth care.

"Most parents wait until their children are two years and above but this is too late," said the doctor.

According to her, the best time to teach the kids on dental care would be at six-months-old during their first toothing period.

"It is easier to teach them when they only have one tooth," said the doctor.

She added that parents should instil tooth-brushing as an enjoyable and loving time spent with their children and not as a chore.

She then spoke on the importance of having tooth-brushing exercises in schools.

She then elaborated on this by stating that the structure and shapes of human's teeth change as they grow up, further reinforcing the importance of having a standardised technique of brushing. This was one of the motivation behind the "Daily Fluoride Tooth-brushing Programme" that will be implemented to all levels of schools in the Sultanate in the near future.

She concluded by talking on the importance of how prevention is better than cure as there is no actual cure for dental diseases once you develop a cavity. "You can only try your best to prevent it," she said.

With this in mind she explained that unlike other diseases which involves elaborate methods of prevention, the only thing needed for proper care of your teeth and prevention of cavities is to use fluoride and proper brushing techniques.