‘Teeth for a Lifetime’-Mission launched at Trichy School, India by Equal Health, Australia.

‘Teeth for a Lifetime’-club launched at SEVAI Shanthi Metric Higher Secondary School at Trichy by Equal Health dental team, Australia. Launching the project in this School, Dental Therapist Sal McLeish of Equal Health spoke to school pupils and teachers the need for taking care of our teeth and gums in order to provide the greatest chance that our teeth remains with us well into our adult life, good dental hygiene must begin as soon as the first baby tooth becomes visible. She said ‘Brushing at minimum, you should thoroughly brush your teeth twice a day, however brushing after each meal is even better. If you can’t brush after meals, rinsing your mouth with water can help to wash away some of the particles that remain on your teeth after eating. When you do brush, be sure to use toothpaste that contains fluoride as this can help prevent your teeth from decaying. Also make sure you replace your brush as soon as it begins to show signs of wear. When you brush, take care to ensure you brush each tooth as well as the adjacent gum area; it normally takes between two and three minutes to properly brush your teeth. Flossing, taking the time to properly floss your teeth is one of the most important things you can do to maintain good dental health, yet it is the step that people most often skip. While brushing helps to clean the surface of your teeth, flossing helps to ensure that the areas between your teeth are also cleaned. While dentists typically recommend that adults floss at least once a day, brushing alone is considered to be adequate for children’.

‘Maintaining good oral hygiene is one of the most important things you can do for your teeth and gums. Healthy teeth not only enable you to look and feel good, they make it possible to eat and speak properly. Good oral health is important to your overall well-being. Daily preventive care, including proper brushing and flossing, will help stop problems before they develop and are much less painful, expensive, and worrisome than treating conditions that have been allowed to progress. In between regular visits to the dentist, there are simple steps that each of us can take to greatly decrease the risk of developing tooth troubles and other dental problems. These include: Eating a balanced diet and limiting snacks between meals; using dental products that contain fluoride, including toothpaste; Rinsing with a fluoride mouth rinse if your dentist tells you to making sure that your children less than 12 drink fluoridated water or take a fluoride supplement if they live in a non-fluoridated area’ said dental hygienist Natarsha Ferrington’.

Equal Health Australia team has undertaken school dental hygiene program in SEVAI Shanthi Matriculation Higher Secondary School its pupils. Equal Health Australia provides comprehensive medical care for the slum dwellers of Trichirapalli of Tamilnadu.The partnering Voluntary organization for the medical camp ,SEVAI requested the Equal Health, Australia to depute two Dental hygienists to its SEVAI Shanthi Matriculation Higher Secondary School where over 1200 children study from the age group of 3-17.Equal Health -2011,its team leader Mr. Paul Clarke had deputed Dental hygienist Natarsha Ferrington, Dental Therapist  Sal McLeish to SEVAI school. Natarsha Ferrington and Sal McLeish not only attended the pupils and also trained two young women locally for the follow up in dental hygiene in this school. Equal Health Australia team dental team members Natarsha Ferrington and Sal McLeish have cleaned the teeth of several children and also demonstrated the use of brush as children. This week long dental hygiene program of Equal health has brought awareness among the pupils and the teachers of the school. Parents too attended the orientation and teeth cleaning sessions. School Principal Mallikha made elaborate arrangements for such a dental hygiene program in SEVAI schools.-EtNS