You may think that advice on oral health is best left for the dentist’s surgery but pharmacy can often be the first port of call for many people seeking advice on oral hygiene and health, therefore you have an important role in advising customers how to keep their teeth and gums healthy.

Although teeth begin to develop before a baby is born, it is most common for all of the teeth to come through the gums between the ages of six and twelve months. Children have these first set of twenty teeth, known as milk or baby teeth, until the age of five or six when they start to fall out and be replaced by adult teeth.

Most adults have 32 teeth in total which have replaced the milk teeth by the age of 12 or 14 years. The final four to complete the set of 32 are the wisdom teeth which emerge between the ages of 17 and 21.

The objectives of this module are:

• To understand the structure of the teeth and gums.
• To understand the causes of tooth decay and gum disease.
• To be able to provide customers with self help tips to maintain oral health.