A British study shows that office workers may experience signs of tooth decay earlier than others. How is this true? The reason is most likely because of the characteristic unhealthy, unbalanced eating habits. How and what we eat is the main factor on how much and what kind of biofilm is on our teeth. Biofilm is made up of bacterial cells stuck together into a viscous film that hardens into plaque. It is the precursor to more serious bacterial infections, and thus needs to be broken up as soon as possible.

Sedentary lifestyle

Our teeth are self-cleansing to a certain extent. In order to have the teeth cleanse themselves, you should eat plenty of raw fruits and vegetables, and of course plenty of grains. The 21st century has seen an explosion of dental problems, and one of the main reasons for this is that we used to eat a much more diverse array of foods.

Nowadays we have access to ready-made foods and mushy, gooey textures. Comfort plays as much of a role as a busy lifestyle that is constantly on the go. Most people can’t be bothered to chew, so they press, grate, grind and mince their fruits, and cuts off all hard to hew bits, even the crusts of bread. This is a problem, as chewing contributes to the ability of teeth to clean themselves greatly, as it helps to remove bits of food stuck to the teeth and breaks up biofilm mechanically.

The woes of office life

A study from 2012 proves that the dental ills of our modern lifestyle weigh especially heavily on the office worker, and on those who perform sedentary work. The study was made from data collected from 175 British dentists and dental hygienists. Around one thousand patients over the age of 16 were asked to fill out a survey online, and this data was used to scale the all-around oral health of people in the UK.

The survey showed that more and more people are performing sedentary jobs, which has an effect on their oral health. It negatively affects the teeth because it leaves less time for healthy eating habits, office workers tend to eat more processed foods, and instead of a meal, office workers tend to just constantly snack. Office workers tend to drink too much sugary sodas, tea and coffee, all of which negatively affect the state of their teeth.

It is of course very hard to change your habits if you eat at a set time during your lunch break, have no time to cook or prepare food, and only fast food joints are available near our place of employment. But you can still change your oral hygiene routine. Most dentists agree that the overwhelming majority of patients do not do everything in their power to prevent tooth decay.

Of those questioned, 80% of office workers do not brush their teeth for the required 2 minutes. Around 20% of them even admitted to omitting the most important, morning brush because of a lack of time.

Prevention

The problem is thus inevitable, but you do not want to change your job, but something must be done. Here are a few tips that can help prevent tooth decay form forming:

–   After a meal or drinking coffee, make sure to rinse your mouth out with water, or chew a sugar free gum. Chewing gum will contribute to saliva production, which in turn will cleanse your teeth.

–   Do not forget to brush your teeth at the very least 2 times every day, and at least 2 minutes per session.

–   Make sure you clean your toothbrush on a regular basis

–   Use mouthwash if you don’t have the time to brush after a meal at the office

–   Make sure to eat plenty of fibres, and lots of raw veggies and fruits

–   Do not be too lazy to chew! Let the teeth work for themselves, thereby cleaning themselves in the process   

Image: 1.