In assistance of National Love Teeth Day, the Department of Health (DH) today (September 20) gotten in touch with the general public to be knowledgeable about their oral health by developing great oral health and dietary practices, in addition to going through routine oral check-ups to keep oral health for life. The Government will completely carry out the oral health policy goals to make it possible for all residents to enhance their oral health routines and way of life. It will continue to embrace the methods of establishing community-wide preventive main oral health care while offering necessary oral care services targeting impoverished groups in developing oral services, to help people in practicing avoidance, early recognition, and prompt intervention for oral illness.

The National Health Commission of individuals’s Republic of China has actually designated September 20 of each year as National Love Teeth Day. The style this year is “Healthy Mouth, Healthy Life: Protect teeth in youth to lay solid foundations; Keep healthy teeth in old age to enjoy well-being”With a concentrate on the oral health of kids, teenagers and the senior, it promotes the adoption of a life-course technique to oral health management and promotes the synergistic advancement of oral health and total health. These concepts line up with the policy goals of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Safeguarding your health begins with your teeth
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Teeth are the core structure of the mouth. They assist us chew and speak and are carefully connected to look, self-confidence, and lifestyle.

Members of the general public must brush their teeth with fluoride tooth paste two times a day, in the early morning and in the evening. If cleansing in between teeth is not comprehensive while brushing, germs can quickly build up on tooth surface areas, forming oral plaque, which aggravates the gums and triggers inflammation, swelling and bleeding, which might ultimately advance to periodontitis. If left without treatment, the gums and oral alveolar bone might suffer extreme damage, resulting in declining oral alveolar bone and eventually loose teeth. In addition, regular consuming, particularly of high-sugar foods and drinks, allows oral germs to quickly break down sugars and produce acids which constantly wear down the teeth and result in dental caries.

Developing great oral health and dietary practices from an early age promotes healthy tooth advancement. These practices likewise assist avoid typical oral illness such as dental caries and gum illness. They likewise assist avoid weight problems and persistent illness such as diabetes and heart problem. Everybody needs to have their teeth examined each year, despite age or gender, to determine and deal with oral illness early. Missing out on teeth can result in chewing troubles, which can have a long-lasting influence on physical health. In other words, without oral health, there can be no general health. Members of the general public ought to make it a practice to go through routine oral assessments by oral specialists and look for early treatment when issues are still small, so regarding lower the threats positioned by oral illness to one’s total health and to much better protect their teeth.

Establishing community-wide preventive main oral health care while offering vital oral care services targeting impoverished groups
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Hong Kong has actually made substantial efforts to promote oral health, such as drinking water fluoridation, developing the School Dental Care Service, establishing the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Hong Kong, and carrying out numerous subsidised oral service programs in the last few years to cater for individuals of various age and impoverished backgrounds. These public health efforts have actually yielded exceptional outcomes. Findings from the Oral Health Survey 2021 revealed a decrease in the frequency of cavities amongst the general public and a boost in the variety of teeth kept by the senior.

Through the technique of “developing community-wide preventive primary oral healthcare”the Government promotes and establishes preventive-focused oral healthcare commonly amongst the general public, helping residents in self-managing their oral health and practicing avoidance, early recognition and prompt intervention for oral illness to maintain their teeth. The technique of “providing essential dental care services targeting underprivileged groups” concentrates on supplying proper oral health and oral care services to impoverished groups with monetary troubles and unique requirements, making sure that these neighborhoods can access important oral care.

The DH has actually the whole time been actively carrying out numerous oral health advertising efforts and oral services to holistically resolve public requirements, from infancy to senior. These consist of the Brighter Smiles Baby Programme for kids aged 0 to 3 at all Maternal and Child Health Centres under the DH; the Outreach Oral Health Programme for Pre-school Children, which offers oral assessments and preventive oral services to kindergarten kids; the territory-wide School Dental Care Service for main school trainees; and the Primary Dental Co-care Pilot Scheme for Adolescents, for teenagers aged 13 to 17. These interconnected efforts offer constant oral health assistance for kids and teenagers from preschool to school-age phases.

For the senior phase, the DH has actually released the Outreach Dental Care Programme for the Elderly, through which non-governmental organisations release outreach oral groups to offer oral check-ups and oral take care of older grownups living in Residential Care Homes for the Elderly or participating in Day Care Centres or comparable centers throughout all 18 districts in Hong Kong, in addition to oral care training for their caretakers. If a senior is considered ideal for more oral treatment, the outreach oral group will offer complimentary oral treatment either on-site or at an oral center. The outreach oral group will likewise create an oral care strategy customized to the older’s oral care requirements and self-care capability.

To resolve the unique oral care requirements of individuals of various age, the DH, in cooperation with the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital under the Hospital Authority, supplies Special Oral Care Service to kids under the age of 6 with intellectual special needs who are getting training at Special Child Care Centres under the Social Welfare Department. Trainees with intellectual and/or physical impairments in unique schools might take pleasure in School Dental Care Service till the age of 18. Upon maturating, people with intellectual special needs and/or autism spectrum condition can get complimentary oral check-ups, oral treatments and oral health education through the Healthy Teeth Collaboration program. The DH likewise offers unique care oral services to psychiatric inpatients of Kwai Chung Hospital and Castle Peak Hospital.

The Chief Executive’s 2026 Policy Address revealed the growth of the Healthy Teeth Collaboration to use outreach preventive oral health care services for citizens of designated Residential Care Homes for Persons with Disabilities.

“Oral Health for Life” Celebration
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In assistance of National Love Teeth Day, the DH is going to arrange the “Oral Health for Life” Celebration at Plaza Hollywood in Diamond Hill on October 11 (Sunday) from twelve noon to 6pm. Through a health education exhibit, video game cubicles, phase efficiencies and a series of oral health promo activities, the occasion intends to share oral health details to the neighborhood. Admission is complimentary. The general public is welcome to sign up with.

Members of the general public can check out the DH’s Oral Health Promotion Division site and the Facebook page and YouTube channel of “Love Teeth HK” for more details on oral health.