The Australian Dental Association found only half of adults surveyed brush their teeth twice a day, and the same figure had visited a dentist for a checkup within the last 12 months.
A third of adults have untreated and potentially painful tooth decay, an increase from a quarter of adults in 2018.
The ADA's oral health adviser Dr Mikaela Chinotti said the oral health tracker is a progress report that provides an update on how Australian adults oral health is tracking.
“The results are in, and for gum disease and tooth decay, they’re not good. These conditions are largely preventable, yet they’ve increased in prevalence and we continue to get further away from our goal of improving Australia’s overall oral health,” she said.
A positive finding revealed Australians are keeping their teeth for longer, with the number of adults with fewer than 21 teeth dropping from 15.5 per cent to 10 per cent.
“We’ve reached our set target for the number of adults with fewer than 21 teeth. This shows that Australians are keeping their teeth for longer,” she said.
“But at the same time we’re seeing more disease. For tooth decay and gum disease we need to be targeting the causes – like poor oral hygiene and sugar consumption.
“For many Australians, free sugar consumption is still well above the World Health Organisation’s recommended six teaspoons (24 grams) a day limit and this is affecting quality of life by causing tooth decay.
“Not only do individual behaviours need to change, but so too do government policies affecting oral health, an example of this is the introduction of a levy on sugar-sweetened beverages which the ADA would like to see.”
Throughout 2020 the ADA is executing a number of strategies to improve the nation’s oral health by putting a spotlight on sugar.
Strategies include lobbying the government to create a levy on sugar-sweetened beverages, educating people about the harm sugar does to teeth, how consumers can better interpret food labels and understand where hidden sugars lurk, as well as recommendations for low sugar food options for shoppers.