Dentists have issued a stern warning to Wagga residents, following a rise in the number of people tucking into sugary snacks during lockdown.
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The Australian Dental Association has released "alarming" figures showing a steep increase in untreated tooth decay, which they attribute partly to fewer dentist visits and partly to lockdown-related sugar bingeing.
Shumack Dental Co's Tom Shumack said more patients were admitting to snacking throughout the day, particularly those who ended up spending large amounts of time at home.
"Over this COVID period patients are certainly self-reporting eating more sugar at home and stress-related bingeing, which everyone is guilty of," Dr Shumack said.
"This shakeup with COVID has thrown people's habits out. I've even had patients who forget to brush their teeth in the morning, because they're at home more regularly and they've linked brushing with leaving the house."
Dr Schumak's advice is to vigilantly brush at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, and to avoid sugary snacks as much as possible.
For those who cannot resist the sugar cravings, Dr Shumack recommends eating it all in one sitting rather than grazing throughout the day.
New research shows that it takes 30 minutes for saliva to return to normal after a sugar session, and that the frequency of snacking is far more damaging than the quantity.
Dr Shumack is also warning people to keep an eye out for food labels, saying that sugar is hidden in just about all processed food.
"You can get to your maximum recommended daily sugar intake so easily just with seemingly healthy foods: orange juice, your Just Right, your 'low-fat' yogurt, which is jammed full of sugar," Dr Shumack said.
"Barbecue sauce is 70 per cent sugar. It's madness. If you tried to put barbecue sauce together from scratch you'd be astounded - it's just a paste of sugar, really.
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Australian Dental Association oral health promoter Mikaela Chinotti said she expected to see a spike in the number of tooth decay and other oral health problems once the pandemic is over.
The most recent figures already paint a grim picture, with the rate of untreated tooth decay jumping from 25 per cent to 32 per cent.
As a result of the lockdown fewer people had visited a dentist in the last 12 months, dropping from 55.5 per cent to 48.8 per cent.
"Given the findings, we're asking Australians to make their oral health a priority even during the pandemic," Dr Chinotti said.
"This includes visiting the dentist, becoming sugar savvy by understanding ways to reduce free sugar intake or making a conscious effort to brush using fluoride toothpaste twice a day in a bid to reverse the negative trends."