Taiwanese Kids and their awful teeth.

[superking]

Are you well today, superking? A lot of your rants hold water, this bucket has holes in.

Oral hygiene is more important today because of all the processed sugars that youngsters get fed. And local oral hygiene is lagging behind.
Back in the 30s here, what did the kids eat? Not the rubbish you see today, that's for certain.

Take a look around, especially in children's mouths, you'll see lots of ugly gum problems that were highly preventable.

Hi Nuit,

I confess I am awake in the night stressed about life crap. I'll hold on to my point that when some people move to Taiwan they tend to point out stuff that is of no concern to them or that they would be best served by doing something practical or that they have simply inflated what their eyes appear to tell them because nobody is going to ask them to shut up. I'll also hold on to the point that dental hygiene in the west has gone bonkers, and that it really doesnt matter too much what you do to your milk teeth (look at how western kids get raised by sucking dummies!). However, you are spot on about the sugars that kids consume these days. The diet has changed to some extent. Haribo sweets and other such nasties slowly pervade society. My experience in Taichung was that kids mostly still eat traditional foods, (rice, fish, veg) but I know that the candy treats do invade many a household. Giving kids sugar does shut them up. I can see why it happens.

I suppose my point is that if you teach young kids then the best thing to do is impress on them the need to brush their teeth, rather than garner support for your observation. But I expressed it poorly.

Thanks for the reply. I'll cool my jets.

superking.

[finley]

If my teeth repulse people, they should stop peering so closely at my mouth.

Ah, I understand now! You're English!

Or Irish.



Anyway, you're waaay off-base on that, superking. Oral hygiene is not some new-fangled western imperialist thing. Many primitive societies take great care of their teeth and have better methods than brushing, usually involving twig-chewing. Apparently this works better at getting into the tiny crevices on the tooth chewing surface, which is where decay often starts. They do this because it isn't just a cosmetic issue: plenty of people in times gone by died from dental problems.

And as Nuit just said, rampant tooth decay has a lot to do with that (real) imperialist import, Coca-Cola and suchlike.

[Omniloquacious]

In my early days here, back in the 1980s, I was singularly struck by the number of people displaying teeth that were grotesquely dirty and had apparently never been cleaned. It seemed to be particularly common among kids and young adults. I was all too often surprised and dismayed when an intelligent, smartly dressed, well groomed and otherwise attractive young woman opened a mouth to reveal teeth that seemed to be coated in a layer of greenish-grey slime.

I came to understand that it was largely because they had to study so hard from early childhood that they couldn't find time for even a perfunctory brushing, and they were so whacked out at the end of each day that they barely had enough energy left for even minimal ablutions before flopping into bed. And since oral hygiene hadn't been important for their parents in the harsh conditions in which they grew up, they hadn't developed strongly ingrained habits of tooth care to pass on to their children.

But I witnessed a quite remarkable improvement in this situation over the course of my first decade here. I suppose there was an element of educational propaganda in schools and the media that helped to promote it. Also, I suppose that people gained better access to dental treatment, and were given basic lessons on dental hygiene that they started acting upon. Several of my close lady friends who had originally neglected their teeth quite badly went to a dentist to get them cleaned up, and then started to care much more about keeping them in good condition.

Now, at least here in the north, I hardly ever spot dirty teeth in any of the people I interact with. I can readily assume that the average person's tooth care regime is at least as good as that of my average countryman back in old Blighty.

I don't know how typical my wife is, but she attaches enormous importance to it - far greater than I do. She spends at least five minutes working on her teeth after every meal, and is absolutely insistent on keeping our 3-year-old daughter's teeth well cleaned. No amount of crankiness, resistance or tears can save our daughter from that most important pre-bedtime brushing and flossing. Whereas I may sometimes miss a brushing when we're traveling or I have to work till very late or am exhausted or ill, my wife will absolutely never allow a single missed cleaning for herself or our daughter under any circumstances. I sometimes think she goes a bit too far, but I'm glad our daughter is having such a strict habit of regular tooth care instilled in her so early and so thoroughly.

[superking]

Twig chewing I can dig. Twig chewing is clearly an evolutionary behaviour. I'd rather chew a twig than use stupid toothpaste and some plastic bristles, if I am honest. We should re-introduce twig chewing into mainstream society. I'm not arguing about the need to pick the crap out of your teeth. I am saying it's not OK to move to Taiwan and start going 'EWWW look at your gnashers." Those physicians need to heal themselves.

Oral hygiene is worth sticking with. Western defined GOOD oral hygiene, not so much. Animals don't brush their teeth. They keep them clean, but they don't purposefully induce chemicals into their mouths and scrub the enamel away. I don't really have a point beyond, don't pick on the Taiwanese here. Go do something or revise your position. Don't look for support for your theories. It's not helpful or healthy.

For the sake of clarity: I brush my teeth with a toothbrush and paste about once every two weeks. I floss and pick with regularity. They look a bit yellow but I have never had any significant problem with them so my viewpoint is biased by that.

[Isha]

This might have something to do with Nanny or grandma keeping babies happy by giving them chocolates and cakes as often as they ask for.

[Nuit]

I'll hold on to my point that when some people move to Taiwan they tend to point out stuff that is of no concern to them or that they would be best served by doing something practical or that they have simply inflated what their eyes appear to tell them because nobody is going to ask them to shut up.

I appreciate the services you're doing on this board, making people aware of these instances. Really, I do. Though pick your battles.

I'll also hold on to the point that dental hygiene in the west has gone bonkers, and that it really doesnt matter too much what you do to your milk teeth (look at how western kids get raised by sucking dummies!).

Agree .

However, you are spot on about the sugars that kids consume these days. The diet has changed to some extent. Haribo sweets and other such nasties slowly pervade society. My experience in Taichung was that kids mostly still eat traditional foods, (rice, fish, veg) but I know that the candy treats do invade many a house.

Spent the last 3 years perfecting 'small candy' sleight of hand and distraction techniques on my daughter, it's pervasive here.
Also widespread is the habit of allowing your baby to suck for eternity on bottles of baby milk or sugared drinks.
Like omni, my wife is very strict on our kid's oral hygiene, and whilst I think it's a little OTT, I'm not going to start a fight over it.

I was all too often surprised and dismayed when an intelligent, smartly dressed, well groomed and otherwise attractive young woman opened a mouth to reveal teeth that seemed to be coated in a layer of greenish-grey slime.

Fiendishly well-worded and I'm afraid that's going to stick in my head for the rest of today.

[baberenglish]

SK,
I fully support your rant. Great. The OP deserves a lashing. How about a caning? Better yet, the mod should suspend his ass. Purely racist, bias BS in my opinion. But wait, maybe the OP is perfect and is absolutely flawless, must be nice. I have said this a million times before.
"You don't like it, leave!"
Don't need yet another big nose f'ing things up for the rest of us.

[kaikai34]

The black teeth that kids have happens when their parents let them sleep with a milk bottle. The constant contact with milk or the sugar in the milk decays the baby teeth very quickly. It can affect the permanent teeth if a baby tooth falls out too soon and the other baby teeth start drifting into the empty space. Then when the permanent teeth come in, the spacing is all messed up and you'll need some serious work done.

As for oral hygiene, it has become more important because we are living longer. We are going need our chompers for 60 or 70 years. It's probably best to take care of your teeth when you're young.

[TheGingerMan]

Hooray. Another racist thread. "Taiwan people are blah blah blah based on what shit passes through my mind, which suddenly becomes important and inflated because nobody can tell me to shut the fuck up....."


WELL DONE! There is another nice racist thread about how old Taiwanese people all look miserable in the open forum. You should also go there and post your MADE UP BULLSHIT BASED ON NOTHING in there too. Most other people have. That one is super special because the only Taiwanese person to post was instantly bashed down. "Shut up YO, we is being stupid and racist and don't need some fucking LOCAL giving us a dose of reality while we are acting like twats, YO!"

What are you on about?
Are you in crusader mode, or did someone hork in your marmalade this morning?

Seriously, it's patently obvious that there is a severe problem in this country with regards proper preventative maintenance. But, I guess like many a Limey, you've got a gob that just missed inclusion in The Big Book Of British Smiles, and as such, might have overlooked certain deficiencies back in the daze.

As for your critique of the Poker Face thread, it that was indeed your target, it seems unwarranted. I saw none of this:

"That one is super special because the only Taiwanese person to post was instantly bashed down."

Unless some tracks were covered, mate, you've gone a bit barmy!

[sulavaca]

I have the joy and pleasure of wrestling and dealing vomitting, smelly, I'm going to take a wee wherever I feel like Kindy kids. I have come to notice that a lot these kids when they smile, yell, vomit or open their mouth have really awful teeth. With some of my students they have completely black teeth and others having parts of their teeth missing due to decay. Now most of these teeth are milk teeth so it shouldn't be a problem in later life, but don't there parents take brushing their kids teeth or taking them to the dentist seriously??

It's not just that they're milk teeth. Decay and gum infection, often go hand in hand. I've known kids in Taiwan to loose their adult teeth not long after they've grown through. It is a general lack of education that this continues to be cause for alarm. You aren't the only one. I've tried and failed to educate parents in this aspect quite a number of times, and especially so when many people, out of kindness would offer my son sweets, almost every other minute of the day.
Fortunately my son eventually learned to appreciate the education I offered him in regards to his teeth and their affect on his health and comfort and now measures his own intake of sugar in particular and how he deals with his oral situation. I sometimes offer him sweets from time to time, but he doesn't always choose to accept them. He at least understands the cause and affect in this case.
Moral: The best you can do is to educate. Don't accept responsibility for the aftermath.