Oral health is a worldwide public health problem. Poor oral health is a well-known determinant of poor nutritional intake and carries a high risk of cardiovascular disease, pain, and reduced quality of life. Additionally, it is considered a potential risk factor for reduced cognitive function.

Previous research has shown that people with cognitive impairment and dementia are relatively more likely to have poor oral hygiene, dental caries and periodontal disease. According to data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), experts from Renmin University of China suggest that edentulousness caused by senile periodontal disease is closely related to cognitive decline.

This shows that brushing your teeth well is very important. In 2019, the National Health and Medical Commission issued the "Healthy Oral Action Plan (2019-2025)", which proposed that by 2025, the caries rate of 12-year-old children should be controlled within 30%, and the rate of adult brushing twice a day should reach 45%. According to 2016 data, the rate of adults brushing their teeth twice a day is only 36.1%, less than 40%.

Also, while we brush our teeth every day, almost 90% of people brush their teeth the wrong way. The survey found that the average time for Chinese people to brush their teeth is only 1 minute. People who do not brush their teeth well are 2.67 times more likely to suffer from dental caries than those who insist on regular brushing, and periodontal disease also follows.

Recently, a study led by the Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, followed nearly 500,000 Chinese people for up to 10 years, and aimed to assess the association of frequent non-brushing with the risk of morbidity and mortality from various diseases. . The results were published in the latest edition of the European Journal of Clinical Research.

Researchers for the China Kadoorie Biobank recruited 512,715 adults aged 30-79 years in China during 2004-2008. Overall, 9.3 percent of participants reported little or no brushing at baseline, the results showed. And these people tended to be male (11.4% vs 7.8%), older, and had poorer healthy lifestyles (eg, more smoking, lower vegetable and fruit intake).

Participants who seldom or never brushed had a 12% increased risk of major cardiovascular events compared with those who brushed often (HR=1.12, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.15). At the same time, the risk of stroke (1.08, 1.05-1.12), intracerebral hemorrhage (1.18, 1.11-1.26) and cor pulmonale (1.22, 1.13-1.32) increased by 8%, 18% and 22%, respectively.

Further analysis showed that those who did not brush their teeth had cancer (1.09, 1.04-1.14), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (1.12, 1.05-1.20), cirrhosis (1.25, 1.09-1.44) and all-cause death (1.25, 1.21- 1.28) were also increased by 9%, 12%, 25%, and 25%, respectively, but the risks of type 2 diabetes (0.94, 0.86-1.03) and chronic kidney disease (0.98, 0.81-1.18) were unchanged.

In conclusion, among Chinese adults, poor oral hygiene was associated with a higher risk of major vascular disease, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, liver cirrhosis, and all-cause mortality.