Supertooth has researched food and tooth decay and would like you to help prevent tooth decay by asking your friends to join you and register for Supertooth Says updates on www.supertoothndk.org

Also please participate in annual surveys   Five billion people - or nearly 80 per cent of the world's population - suffer from tooth decay, the UN health agency reports on oral health. Tooth decay is the most common and expensive of diseases even in fluoridated communities or in communities with low carbohydrate diets, particularly sugar. Gum disease is not far behind and is much less with good oral hygiene of gum margins. Both relate to plaque bacteria that thrive on carbohydrate causing acid demineralization of teeth and gum inflamation that can progress to pain, tooth loss, even heart disease.   Tooth decay can be easily prevented in any community by decreasing resident plaque bacteria and not leaving acid forming food on teeth after eating that cause demineralization of tooth, and by increasing remineralisation.   All cavities occur where food left after every meal or snack results in acid demineralization with little access of saliva, fluoride or other remineralisation.   Even with poor oral hygiene few cavities occur where most bacterial plaque can be seen with food dye and the brush, fluoride toothpaste and saliva have easy access.   Most food is left trapped between teeth under chewing pressure, displacing previously trapped food yet over 80% of cavities occur inside pits and fissures in chewing surfaces of back teeth where the brush etc cannot reach. Costly sealing or filling these surfaces at the dentist will halt decay, but many communities do not have easy access to dentists.   Supertooth aims to develop simple methods to help individuals and communities not leave acid forming foods on teeth after eating and of increasing access of remineralising agents like saliva, fluoride and Recaldent. (developed from milk at Melbourne University)   Developing a glass model that replicates how food is trapped between teeth and inside pits and fissures displacing previously trapped food will helpeducate schools and communities how to prevent decay. Also help identify local sugarless sealant foods in any community, like nuts that are hard to displace and help prevent meals or snacks being trapped. Also sealant foods will help displace any trapped food after eating. This can been confirmed in x-rays after chewing barium sulphate.   Other local fibre foods like celery will be identified to chew after eating to help saliva dilute sugar in trapped food, neutralize acid and remineralise demineralised tooth.   Evidence suggests that chewing fluoride toothpaste before brushing will provide better access of fluoride inside pits and fissures an largely prevent that 80% of cavities.       Please ask your friends to join you and register on www.supertoothndk.org to recieve Supertooth Says updates for this new phase of research to help prevent tooth decay.