Dr Pingping Han from UQ’s School of Dentistry spoke to SBS News about the importance of brushing and flossing to prevent gum disease.
The conversation comes after a survey was released by the Australian Dental Association which found only 13 per cent of the 25,000 Australians who took part visited the dentist in the past 12 months.
“If you are brushing your teeth and then find out your teeth are bleeding, that means you have inflammation in your gums -we call that an early disease called gingivitis," Dr Han said.
"Don’t panic when your teeth are bleeding, it’s very common.
“In fact at least 90 per cent of adults in the world- so everyone has gingivitis, almost.
"If you leave it until it develops, your gum tissue will be gone eventually and you’ll lose your tooth.”
