人老了,牙齿一定会掉吗?

Will tooth fall out when we grow old?

俗话说"老掉牙",就是指人老了,牙齿也就掉了。但这个观点是不正确的。实际上,牙齿如果能够得到有效的保护,牙病如果能够得到及时治疗,即使活到九十高龄,也依然可以有一口好牙。现代医学早已证明,牙齿不是"老"掉的,而多是由于牙周病所致。因此,若能提高社会整体对牙周病的认识,牙病防治水平就会发生质的提升。然而,世界范围内,人们口腔健康意识不够、知识欠缺,加上很多地区经济发展滞后、专业人士缺乏且无法满足巨大的社会需求,使牙周病在过去、现在乃至今后很长一段时间里,仍然是危害人类口腔健康的"头号天敌",这种形势在发展中国家尤为严峻。提高口腔健康水平,让"老掉牙"成为过去,需要各级政府机关、卫生主管部门和广大口腔医务工作者的共同努力,任重而道远。

As the saying goes, when people grow old, tooth will fall out. But this view is incorrect. In fact, if people protect their teeth effectively and treat odontopathy in time, they can have good teeth even if they live upwards of ninety. Modern medicine has proved that the loss of tooth is mainly caused by periodontal diseases instead of growing old. It will be a qualitative leap in odontopathy prevention and treatment when the understanding of the importance of preventing and treating periodontal disease is totally improved. Nonetheless, globally speaking, periodontal disease is still the first dangerous oral disease in a long period of time, especially in most developing countries due to the low health consciousness, knowledge deficit, slow economic development and lack of professionals. To improve the level of oral health and to let tooth loss with aging become a thing of the past require the government, institutions at various levels, health authorities and the oral medical workers to work together and shoulder heavy responsibilities.