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Close to half of all Australians don’t visit the dentist regularly.
This new report indicates that around 40 percent of the people in Australia don’t visit their dentists for dental checkups on a routine basis. For 30 percent of the people, however, they cannot afford to visit the dentist or have trouble getting access to a dentist. This study was done by John Spencer, a professor of social and preventive dentistry at the Unversity of Adelaide.
For about 30 percent of the population, he or she only deems it necessary to visit the dentist when he or she is in pain. The problem is that, at this point, the person might have gum disease or tooth decay. If the person was proactive and visited the dentist regularly, these problems wouldn’t have occurred.
Other factors, like a fear of visiting the dentist, a fear of other oral health issues or trouble getting an appointment, may prevent people from visiting the dentist.
The report didn’t come as a surprise to Dr. Shane Friar, the president of the Australian Dental Association. The reason is the dental services in Australia don’t encompass enough of the areas as they should to provide everyone with the ability to maintain solid oral health.
An initiative has begun in schools to instill upon children the importance of oral health. For adults, however, more needs to be done to improve their overall oral health.
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