Inequity in oral health outcomes is a growing problem, and food plays a major role.
“We’ve known for a long time that social determinants drive health outcomes, and this is particularly so for dental diseases,” says Melbourne Dental School lecturer Associate Professor Matt Hopcraft (BDSc 1994, MDSc 2000, PhD 2010).
“Poor oral health is now probably one of the biggest — and perhaps visually most obvious — signs of poverty.”
Associate Professor Hopcraft says highsugar fast foods are a major culprit in poor oral health, and it’s not just the sugary drinks and lollies.
“There’s an assumption that it’s just sugary drinks and lollies, but the reality is that it’s all sorts of food and drink, because sugar is hidden everywhere. A Big Mac has 8 grams, or two teaspoons, of sugar and that amount has increased over the past decade,” he says.
“The average teenager consumes 82 grams (20 teaspoons) of added sugar each day — which is well above the limit recommended by the World Health Organization of 24 grams, or six teaspoons, to reduce the risk of tooth decay.”
According to Associate Professor Hopcraft, it’s crucial to understand how commercial factors contribute to the disparity in oral health outcomes.
We see, for example, more fast food and convenience stores in areas of greater socio-economic disadvantage, but also that there are fewer dental practitioners in these same suburbs where there is a higher burden of disease.
There’s growing emphasis in dental education on social responsibility and professionalism, driven by the Australian Dental Council’s recently developed competencies for newly graduating dental practitioners. Associate Professor Hopcraft says this is a positive development.
“It’s important for dentists and oral health therapists to educate their patients, particularly families with young children. Understanding how to look at a food label, helping people to understand how much sugar they are eating each day, and trying to stay below that six-teaspoon limit. It’s also important to spread that message to schools, kindergartens and other groups.”
Associate Professor Hopcraft acknowledges that given only half the Australian population visit a dental practitioner each year, tackling these issues at an individual level comes with challenges.
The highest dental disease burden is in those community groups with the greatest socio-economic disadvantage, which is why population-level measures are so important. Tackling issues like marketing of food is critical. I believe that we all have a role in lending our voice to these sorts of activities if we are really going to make a difference.
To that end, he works closely with Brands Off Our Kids, a campaign striving to limit the influence fast food advertisers have on young Australians. Some of Brands Off Our Kids’ aims include limiting unhealthy food marketing between 6am and 9.30pm, preventing processed food companies from targeting children and keeping public spaces free of unhealthy food marketing.
“I’ve been involved in advocacy and awareness raising for a while now, focusing particularly on the impacts of sugar on dental health. There is a lot of overlap with the advocacy around overweight/obesity and diabetes, and I felt it was important to add the dental voice too, which had been missing.”
Associate Professor Hopcraft says now is the right time for those in dentistry to step up and push for positive change.
“Recent events, including an Aged Care Royal Commission and Senate Inquiry into dental services, have placed oral health in the public spotlight. This presents a unique opportunity for members of the dental profession to advocate for the next big change — to expand Medicare to include more dental services.”
For more on this issue, visit matthopcraft.substack.com/podcast