As UW-Madison students study into the early morning hours, gulping down caffeinated, sugary soft drinks and munching on late-night snacks, oral hygiene may fall by the wayside, according to local dentists.
A lot of time their hygiene changes-—when they're in high school they're under full supervision,\ said Madison dentist and immediate past President of the Wisconsin Dental Association Fred Jaeger.
In college, Jaeger explained, ""You're on your own. You think, ‘I'm going to bed at 3 in the morning and I don't want to brush my teeth. I'll do it in the morning.'""
WDA public relations director Carol Weber said she agreed.
""Their lifestyles change,"" Weber said. ""Their eating habits change.""
UW-Madison's Population Health Institute conducts an annual study on Wisconsin health and quality of life. One facet of the survey lists counties in order of the percentage of each county's residents that does not get regular dental checkups.
According to the 2005 survey results, Dane County is the 10th worst Wisconsin county for receiving proper oral care and maintenance, with 40.4 percent of residents not attending their half-year dental checkups.
Although the UW-Madison student population may not directly contribute to this low health quality score, ""when you have a transit population, or students that aren't on their parents' insurance anymore, not being able to get dental insurance from the school can make it difficult to get in to see a dentist,"" said UW-Madison graduate student Ashly McLean, who will enter dental school at the University of Michigan next fall.
""You can't get any type of dental coverage through UW,"" McLean said, though Madison Area Technical College does offer discounted dental services through its dental hygienist program.
""In trying to cut ends or make ends meet, you buy cheaper food that might be higher in sugar, and definitely drink more soda to try to stay awake,"" McLean said, explaining that the kind of decay college students have is often inter-proximal decay, resulting from excessive consumption of ""fermentable carbohydrates""—foods or beverages with high sugar contents, such as soda, juice, hot chocolate and cookies.
Both McLean and Jaeger stressed the importance of preventive measures to curb tooth decay.
Jaeger recommended students make appointments during semester and spring breaks, or directly after final exams in May.
And for the ever-frugal college student, Jaeger prescribes regular oral hygiene maintenance, rather than spending extra money on fillings and root canals.
""Prevention is always less expensive than trying to play catch up,"" he said. ""So, you're actually saving money by getting regular care.""\
