“Smile Romania” study also finds that toothpaste usage in Romania is the lowest in the European Union
Romanians living in rural areas of the country only change their toothbrushes once every 10 years, according to new a study cited in the Romanian press.
In further disturbing news for the dental health of Romania the “Smile Romania” study also found that toothpaste usage was the lowest in the EU.
“The situation is worrying as there is a link between bad dental habits and dental disease,” dentist Dorin Risnoveanu, told Adevarul, a Romanian newspaper.
“Besides not changing their toothbrush most Romanians do not even use it once a day,” he continued adding that 80 per cent of the population had some form of “dental disease”.
In urban areas of Romania the life expectancy of a toothbrush dropped to just two years, but still far exceeds the three months recommended by dentists.
The study also revealed low toothpaste consumption rates, with figures showing that on average a Romanian used only one tube of toothpaste in a year. The European average, Adevarul says, is five tubes and so Romania “has the lowest consumption rate in the European Union.” In an effort to address the problem dental health experts have advocated expansion of a “toothbrush scrapping” run scheme in Bucharest, the capital.
Under the programme people can come and trade in their old brush for a new one.
“Many people who come here know they should change their brush once every three months but I did have one pensioner who told me he had been using the same brush for 10 years,” a dentistry student helping to run the programme told Adevarul. “In total we’ve had over 2,000 people and some of them we’ve directed on to a medical centre where they can get free treatment.”
mai mult la : Rural Romanians change their toothbrushes once every 10 …
