RUSSIANS DO NOT CARE WELL OF THEIR TEETH

07 May

CROS and “Lesnoy Balzam” brand of oral care products organized with the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) national research “Assessment of Russians’ dental health and the quality of dental care services”. The research results allowed to deeply analyze factors causing deterioration of the teeth and gums' health of Russians, including lack of proper oral care and irregularity of preventive visits to the dentist.

Within the framework of the national research organized by CROS and “Lesnoy Balzam” brand and conducted by VCIOM, respondents assessed the current state of their teeth and gums, as well as their knowledge of comprehensive oral hygiene. It turned out that 9 out of 10 respondents over 18 years old have already faced a dental or gum disease. At the time of the research, 62% of the respondents had complaints about the unsatisfactory condition of their oral cavity. In particular, every third of them faced gum disease, and every fifth Russian at a fairly young age (35-44 years) has more than 8 filled and more than 5 extracted teeth. Thus, the research dispelled the myth that problems associated with teeth and gums, including the loss of teeth, are the domain of the older generation. Over half of respondents (60%) aged 25-34 have already encountered this type of problem.

Experts particularly noted the fact that 62% of respondents did not associate the condition of their teeth and gums with the poor quality of daily oral hygiene, considering it “sufficient”. A third said that they associate deterioration of the condition of their teeth with irregular visits to the dentist and other factors, and neglect proper oral care as the most important part of prevention, according to the professional dentists’ opinion.

While experts recommend having oral hygiene 2-3 times every day, only 36% of those who use toothpaste brush their teeth more than once a day. And complementary care products such as mouthwash or dental floss are generally not common among the population.

At the press conference "Green Light for Healthy Habits", experts from VCIOM, “Lesnoy Balzam” and the Russian Dental Association (RDA) noted that irregular visits to the dentist is an important factor that contributes to poor dental health. Only 17% of respondents confirmed that they visit the dentist for preventive purposes regularly (twice a year). At the same time, over half (52%) confirmed that they did not visit the dentist in the past year. The main reason for not paying regular visits to the dentist, as declared by respondents, is absence of complaints or any need whatsoever. This indicates that today people have developed a behavioral stereotype of visiting the dentist only at the late stage of a disease, when they start having ache or other unpleasant feelings, which is a wrong for having good health.

“Dental diseases and problems in the oral cavity can be asymptomatic for a long time, and not manifesting themselves in any way. Unfortunately, the dominant reason for our fellow citizens visiting a dentist is still some unpleasant feelings or discomfort (71%), and this trend is not changing. Only 13% of respondents associate a deterioration in oral health with rare visits to the dentist. We would like to convey the idea about the need of preventive treatment, which, with a high probability, would allow people to avoid more serious diseases of the oral cavity in the future," Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, President-elect of the Russian Dental Association in St. Petersburg Andrey Yaremenko said.

Factors like rare visits to the dentist, poor quality of teeth cleaning and a low culture of using additional hygiene products (for example, dental floss or mouthwash) negatively affect the health of teeth and gums. It's no secret that proper oral care is the basis for the prevention of the major dental diseases, and the teeth condition directly depends on the attention that a person pays to oral care.

If the daily oral hygiene is not carried out effectively, it can lead to such serious consequences as expensive treatment and loss of teeth. After all, people often limit themselves to just using a toothbrush and paste and forget about other hygiene products. Meanwhile, if you use the full range of hygiene products every day, including brushing your teeth 2-3 times a day, using mouthwash or dental floss after meals, careful monitoring of plaque removal in the morning and evening - this can be an effective addition to preventive visits to the dentist.