With mouth cancer most common in Papua New Guinea, everyone is encouraged to look after their oral health which is vital to prevent the disease.

Dental Surgeon at Mills Dental Care, Dr Marica More pointed out the key messages for a better oral health during the commemoration of the National Tooth Brushing Day last Friday, 26th of July.

Mills Dental, in collaboration with Paradise Private Hospital (PPH) and Colgate, hosted a tooth brushing event at the hospital’s car park at 3 Mile in Port Moresby.

The PPH staff and patients joined over 430,000 people nationwide including schools and corporate organizations for the annual tooth brushing event.

During the event, PPH Director of Medical Services Dr Polapoi Chalau highlighted the importance of having healthy teeth and gums.

He explained that poor condition of the teeth and gums may be more vulnerable to an oral virus that can cause certain mouth and throat cancers.

Dr Chalau added that PPH and Mills Dental are working in partnership to provide a one stop shop for patients seeking dental care at the hospital especially during an emergency.   

Dr More highlighted the following key messages for a better oral health which include:

1. Brush thoroughly at least twice a day, especially after eating breakfast and before bedtime.

2. Use a fluoride toothpaste

3. Limit the number of times you eat sweet and sticky snacks

4. Visit the dentist regularly

The National Tooth Brushing Day included a nationwide countdown via the radio to the main tooth brushing exercise.

Dr More gave a brief demonstration on how to brush teeth before the nationwide countdown begin explaining the 5 steps of tooth brushing.

1. Outside: Place brush at angle along outer gumline. Wiggle gently back & forth. Repeat for each tooth

2. Inside: Brush inside surface of each tooth, using wiggling technique in Step 1

3. Way in the Back: Brush chewing surface of each tooth

4. Behind Front Teeth: Use tip of toothbrush to brush behind each front tooth, both top and bottom.

5. Tongue: Don’t forget to brush your tongue

“We want Papua New Guinea to have good oral health by getting into the habit of brushing your teeth twice a day for a strong, healthy teeth and remind ourselves that everyone deserves a future they can smile about,” she said.

Dr More thanked Colgate for this initiative and the support materials including the toothbrushes and Colgate toothpaste distributed for the tooth brushing exercise.

She also thanked Paradise Private Hospital for supporting Mills Dental Care carry out the initiative successfully.