Students at St Dorothy’s School in Zebbug, Malta were recently asked to reflect about a very basic question: “How often do you stop to think how your diet may be affecting your teeth?” – while people are concerned about their health and appearance, teeth are often overlooked.

For this purpose, GlaxoSmithKline teamed up with St Dorothy’s, and actively participated in the school’s health and safety week by emphasising the importance of dental hygiene and, in particular, by educating the students about acid erosion.

A dental hygienist delivered a talk on oral care to about 80 students. Apart from highlighting the importance of cleaning teeth regularly, the students were shown a film on the correct method of brushing their teeth. Apart from stressing the fact that sugary foods and drinks are best avoided, the dental hygienist explained how acidic food and drinks harm the teeth. Also, it was emphasised that teeth should not be brushed immediately after eating or drinking acidic food and drinks, but a minimum of an hour should be allowed so as to prevent corrosion from taking place.

A practical suggestion is that one should ideally finish a meal with some milk or cheese as this would help to neutralise acids. A better solution would be to replace any acidic snacks with raw vegetable sticks (carrots, cucumber, peppers), plain yoghurt, nuts and cheese.

The session also had a practical side to it. All students were offered a fruit juice and asked to drink it through a straw directed to the back of the mouth. The aim is to avoid contact with the enamel of the teeth, which causes acid erosion.

On completing a short questionnaire about the talk, five winners were presented with a beauty case including Sensodyne Pronamel toothpaste. This toothpaste specifically protects teeth from acid erosion and is gentle in cases of tooth sensitivity.