I thought about this recently. I live in Australia. For the first 30 years of my life I didn’t look after my teeth properly.

Now I’ve got a really good oral hygiene routine with flossing, interdental brushes and a good quality mouthwash. I went through my routine one night last week and thought about how much better my gums were and how few problems I had with my oral health. I used to have frequent ulcers and permanent gingivitis.

As great as I felt knowing I’ve gotten on top of it, I feel terrible. I’m fortunate in that I can afford to spend 20 dollars a month on interdental brushes. Another 5 on floss. Another 10 on mouthwash. The $200 electric toothbrush that makes it easy to get a really solid clean.

Like what the fk man? Taking care of my teeth is not only going to have massive positive health impacts on me, but there would be huge cost savings for the government who only seem to intervene and pay up when it’s too late and you need hospital care for whatever eventuality comes.

A significant portion of the country skip meals in order to pay rent. They certainly don’t have that kind of money to spend to maintain there teeth, as well as any kids in the house.

Oral hygiene products should really be subsidised for low income families.