Brush with fluoride toothpaste: World Cavity-Free Future Day 2023

This year World Cavity-Free Future Day is urging people around the world to brush with fluoride toothpaste, citing the World Health Organization (WHO) which recently recognised it as an “essential medicine”.

Held on 14 October every year, World Cavity-Free Future Day’s mission is “to address the need for greater global awareness of dental caries, the disease which, when left unaddressed, can lead to dental cavities” and this year the focus is firmly on highlighting how crucial a healthy brushing routine using fluoride toothpaste is for keeping teeth healthy and cavity free.

Starting early means that brushing teeth regularly – it is recommended this happen twice a day, augmented by flossing, a healthy diet and regular visits to the dentist – becomes a life habit which, World Cavity-Free Future Day messaging points out, is “crucial to helping people maintain these healthy habits throughout [their] the life course.”

In light of the fact that 2.8 billion people, including 530 million children around the world suffer from untreated dental caries – in Australia, the ADA’s Australia's Oral Health Tracker shows 32% of adults and 27% of children aged 5-10 years fall into this category – these campaigns continue to be vital in dealing with ongoing oral health issues globally.

The importance of the messaging goes far beyond any immediate benefits with the campaign noting that “Helping individuals understand the importance of taking control of their oral health, starting by brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and reducing their frequency of sugar intake, is a key step on the road towards reducing the number of people who develop cavities and helping secure a cavity-free future for generations to come”.

Marking this event is a great way to continue the discussion about good oral health with patients and the wider community that began with World Oral Health Day in March and continued most recently with Dental Health Week, which focused on the close connection between oral and overall health.

Get involved

According to the Alliance for a Cavity-Free Future (ACFF), there are a number of key ways for people to get involved in this year’s event:

- Use the hashtags #WCFFD on social media;

- Download and share the WCFFDay 2023 postcards within your community;

- Run your own local event/activity/campaign which encourages toothbrushing. If you want to run a local event, please get in touch with admin@acffglobal.org for advice; and

- Share stories and your top tips to encourage toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste in
children and adults.