Good oral health habits

Written By Guest User

7 August 2026

This year Australia’s dental health week takes place from 3–9 August. The Australian Dental Association uses this week to promote good oral health habits, as oral health is closely linked to overall health, especially heart health, diabetes, stroke and oral cancer. In addition, missing teeth or problem with tooth integrity can impact your speech and nutrition. The Australian Heart Foundation cited research finding that if you have gum disease, you are twice as likely to have heart disease. The foundation data showed 30% of Australian have moderate-to-severe gum disease, with rates sharply increasing with age and affecting men more than women.

Australian research in 2018 found that bacteria associated with gum disease releases harmful substances that can cause the blood vessels to become sticky. Changes that occur to proteins in the blood vessel wall called “proteoglycans” cause this stickiness. The sticky proteins of proteoglycans attract cholesterol. As the cholesterol sticks to the proteoglycans in the blood vessel wall, this leads to fat and cholesterol build-up called “atherosclerosis” which causes the artery walls to harden. The hardening can eventually affect blood flow leading to arteries become blocked. This can lead to coronary heart disease (damage in the heart’s major blood vessels), including heart attack and fatality. (Kamato, 2018)

How to improve your oral health:

  • Brush: clean your teeth twice a day using fluoride toothpaste. Brush your tongue also to remove extra bacteria. Check with your dentist to ensure your brushing technique is effective for your teeth and gum.

  • Clean between: Floss using dental floss or interdental brushes every day.

  • Eat well: choose a balanced diet and limit added sugars. Drink water or rinse your mouth after having caffeinated drink. Limit alcohol drink and seek support to quit smoking.

  • See a dentist: Go for your regular check-up, at least annually. CAM’s Medibank private health insurance policy covers dental care. Keep record of your out-of-pocket costs and forward to Ms Alina Tsakonas – CAM’s Clergy Healthcare Administrator, to check if and when you are eligible for reimbursement.

Effective teeth and mouth care is non-negotiable, same as daily movement for fitness and overall wellbeing. This month, Clergy Life and Ministry is launching two important health and wellbeing activities for our clergy:

PriestFit Personal Training Program

Fr Jaycee Napoles is now a qualified personal trainer. If you are interested and can commit to a 6-month training program, please send us an email and we will go through registration and logistics with you. The fee structure is $199/month. As an incentive, CLMO will sponsor the first 2 months fee for the first 3 priests signing up to the program. Please send us an email on clmo@cam.org.au

Spring to Action 10,000 Steps Challenge

This challenge is back by popular demand. This year we will have three age categories to make the challenge fairer: up to 49 years-old, 50-64 years-old and 65 years-old plus. We look forward to seeing more priests joining the challenge. There will be prizes and lots of fun. Register here

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