BEST if B.C.

North Shore teeth |
jradces

given good

YOUNG ADULTS living on
the North Shore have the
best chance of keeping their
pearly whites for a lifetime.

By EVELYN JACOB
miributing Writer

That’s the latest finding of a
survey conducted by the B.C. Col-
lege of Dental Surgeons, the
Ministry of Health and the Uni-
versity of British Columbia.

The study surveyed over 10,000
adults in B.C. aged 16 ard over,
and found that North Shore
youths had the best prognosis for
keeping their natural teeth.

Dr. Alan Gray, former director
of dental health services of B.C.
and chairman of the group who
carried out the study, said the
group stumbled upon the findings
while examining the incidence of
tooth loss in B.C. He said the
discovery didn’t surprise him.

“One of the reasons (for the
finding) is the North Shore has the
highest number of dentists per unit
of population in the province,’’
said Gray. :

Dentists are generally attracted
to areas which offer the best mar-
ket for their services — centres of
higher education and sophistica-

tion like the North Shore, said
Gray.

And that means young adults get
faster service and treatment on a
regular basis.

‘Teeth were
really deplorable
during my time.
About 40 per
cent (of people)
had their
permanent teeth
extracted. ”’

—Dr, Alan Gray

Another reason North Shore
youths have strong, healthy teeth is
because North Shore schools
started public health programs
earlier than other areas in the pro-

vince. Dental care education at an
early age is particularly important
in preventing tooth decay, accor-
ding to Gray. .

“Teeth were really deplorable
during my time. About 40 per cent
(of people) had their permanent
teeth extracted.”

By 1987, the survey showed that
[ess than I per cent of 8.C.’s pop-
ulation had lost their permanent
teeth. “That’s a dramatic im-
provement,”’ said Gray.

Education seems to have
benefited North Shore residents
between the ages of 16 and 25.
They have fost fewer teeth than
any other region in the province,
and have a lower decay rate. Fur-
thermore, they had far fewer le-
sions and Jess extractions.

At the same time, the Skeena
and Northern region of B.C.
reported the highest number of
missing teeth, while metropolitan
areas of the North Shore, Rich-
mond, Burnaby, Vancouver and
Victoria reported the lowest
number,

While the survey showed that 67
per cent of the population have no
decayed teeth at present, patients
who wait two years between ap-
pointments have almost three times
the number of decayed teeth as
those who visit the dentist more
than once a year.

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685-8471

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37 ~ Sunday, October 9, 1988 - North Shore News

Local
studies in
Finland

PAGE 41

NEWS photo Mike Wakefield

A SURVEY conducted by the B.C. College of Dental Surgeons, the
Ministry of Health and the University of British Columbia has found that
young adults tiviag on the North Shore have the best chance of keeping
their teeth for a lifetime. Certified dental assistant Lorene Coucombe in-
spects Elva Wallace’s teeth in a North Vancouver dental office.

BETTER PRICING BETTER SERVICE
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