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| Lee Sun-young, general manager of Philips Personal Health Korea, speaks during a press conference at the Korea Press Center in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Philips Korea |
By Baek Byung-yeul
Philips Korea has proposed a new way of tooth brushing that takes more care of the gums in order to prevent tooth and gum diseases in a campaign jointly launched with the Korea Association for Oral Health, according to the company, Tuesday.
"A significant portion of the overall healthcare cost is spent on treatment. It is very important to increase the importance of preventative healthcare rather than disease treatment. If we try more to prevent gum disease properly, we can simply escape the threat of many diseases," Lee Sun-young, general manager of Philips Personal Health Korea, said during a press conference held in Seoul.
Sonicare, an oral healthcare brand of Philips Korea, jointly conducted a survey on the oral health and toothbrushing habits of Koreans. They announced that while people have begun to pay more attention to their oral health, many are not aware of the fact that tooth and gum diseases can negatively impact their bodies.
A survey of 1,000 adults conducted from Feb. 27 to March 3 found that 59.3 percent of the respondents said their interest in health increased after the COVID-19 pandemic and 46 percent said their interest in improving their tooth brushing habits and oral healthcare increased.
On the other hand, 72.5 percent of the respondents were not properly aware that gum diseases can have a serious adverse effect on other general diseases, which has not significantly changed from the figure of 74.7 percent recorded before the pandemic.
Park Yong-duk, chairman of the Korea Association for Oral Health, suggested what he called the 0-1-2-3 tooth brushing method. It involves brushing for more than two minutes ― after a minute of finishing eating ― by brushing your teeth in such a way as to not cause irritation to the gums and then simply repeating this three times a day.
In particular, Park emphasized that we need to carefully brush the gum line, the area where the tooth meets the gum, to prevent tooth and gum diseases.
Philips also added that its Philips Sonicare electric toothbrushes are effective for preventing gum diseases. The product uses sonic technology to help people brush their teeth more comfortably.
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