Dental hygiene key to fighting mouth cancer

National

DENTAL hygiene is important to prevent mouth cancer, which is a common disease in Papua New Guinea, a doctors say.
The Mills Dental Clinic (MDC) in collaboration with Paradise Private Hospital (PPH) and Colgate joined more than 430,000 people nationwide, including schools and corporate organisations, in commemorating National Tooth Brushing Day last Friday.
PPH director of medical services Dr Polapoi Chalau explained that poor condition of the teeth and gums would make one more vulnerable to an oral virus that could cause certain mouth and throat cancers.
He said PPH and MDC were working to provide a one-stop shop for patients seeking dental care at the hospital, especially during an emergency.
MDC dental surgeon Dr Marica More gave some tips on proper dental hygiene.
The tips were:

  • Brush thoroughly at least twice a day, especially after eating breakfast and before bedtime;
  • use a fluoride toothpaste;
  • limit the number of times you eat sweet and sticky snacks; and,
  • visit the dentist regularly.

She gave a brief demonstration on how to brush teeth which was followed by a nationwide countdown on the tooth brushing exercise via the radio.