Stop the Rot: Stop Telling Children "Brush Your Teeth"

For 5 Centuries children have been told to Brush Your Teeth, generation after generation, Century after Century by; parents, grandparents, dentists, dental hygienists, dental therapists, teachers, schools, Education Departments, Dental Associations, health related government agencies and even The World Health Organization. The list is endless. Children are brainwashed to Brush Your Teeth from a very early age up to their teens.

Brush Your Teeth has been causing oral diseases since before 1498, the year the first tooth brush to be made with bristles was patented.

Brush Your Teeth is a 15th Century tooth cleaning instruction.

Brush Your Teeth is a cleaning-only instruction.

Brush Your Teeth does not leave the whole mouth clean.

Brush Your Teeth does not leave vulnerable-to-disease mouth surfaces protected from disease.

Brush Your Teeth does not predictably prevent oral diseases.

Garth Pettit's life as a private dental practictioner began in Port Lincoln in 1954, continued in various locations in England from 1958 to 1980 until he returned to Australia in 1980. The final 10 years were in Alice Springs, Northern Territory until he retired from private practice in 1992.

But the thoughts of dentistry did not retire with Dr. Pettit. He wanted to write vastly improved oral healthcare education resources than those that were available. He wanted to give, especially children, a much better opportunity, not only to prevent easily preventable oral diseases but to become self-motivated to prevent those diseases. With this in mind he searched for a Government dental service position where he would be working with children, schools, teachers and adults. Researching for those resources found him back in The Northern Territory where, in his research, he discovered that the hygiene instruction ""Brush Your Teeth"" was a cause of oral diseases.