VOA慢速英语:Poor Oral Health Leads to Social and Emotional Problems

A new report says nearly four-billion people have major tooth decay, or cavities. That number represents more than half of the world's population. Health officials are warning that failure to repair cavities can lead to social and emotional problems.
一项最近报道称近40亿人有严重蛀牙，该数字占到了世界人口的一半以上。卫生官员警告说，不修复蛀牙会导致社会和情感问题。

Wagner Marcenes is with the Institute of Dentistry at Queen Mary, University of London. He led a team of researchers as part of the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study. About 500 researchers attempt to collect and examine studies about all major diseases. They used the information to estimate rates of the infection.
Wagner Marcenes就职于伦敦大学玛丽皇后学院牙科研究所。他领导的研究着团队参与了《2010年全球疾病负担研究》。大约500名研究人员试图收集和调查有关所有重大疾病的研究。他们使用这些信息来估算感染率。

The report says untreated tooth decay is the most common of all 291 major diseases and injuries. Professor Marcenes says cavities or holes  in permanent teeth are also known as caries.
报告称未治疗的蛀牙是291种重大疾病和伤痛中最常见的一种，Marcenes教授说，恒牙里的空腔或小孔也被称作龋齿。

"Caries is a chronic disease that shares the same risk factors as cancer, cardiovascular disease. What we're having now is an increase in disease from highly developed countries happening in sub-Saharan Africa and probably it will be in other areas of Africa, too."
“龋齿是一种慢性病，和癌症、心血管疾病有着同样的风险因素。那些以前在发达国家高增长的疾病，如今也出现在撒哈拉南部非洲，可能还会出现在非洲其他地区。”

He says an increase in tooth decay in Africa could be a result of developing countries becoming more like Western nations.
他表示，非洲蛀牙增长可能是因为发展中国家变得越来越像西方国家。

"It is likely to be related to a change in diet. Our industrialized diet leads to chronic disease, which includes caries. And that may be the main explanation."
“这可能与饮食的改变有关，我们工业化的饮食导致龋齿等慢性病的出现，其主要原因可能就是这个。”

Western diets are rich in sugar, a leading cause of health problems in the mouth. In western countries, water supplies are treated with the chemical fluoride. Adding fluoride to the water makes teeth resistant to the bacteria that can cause tooth decay.
西方饮食富含糖，糖是口腔卫生问题的主要原因。在西方国家，供水经过氟化物处理。在水中添加氟化物使得牙齿可以抵抗能够引起蛀牙的细菌。

Wagner Marcenes says oral health problems can have a major effect on a person's quality of life. First, cavities make eating difficult. Second, people may change what they eat. They may eat softer foods that are not hard to chew. However, softer foods are often fattier foods.
Wagner Marcenes表示，口腔健康问题会对人的生活质量产生重大影响。首先，蛀牙使得吃东西麻烦。第二，人们只得改变饮食习惯，他们可能会吃容易咀嚼的软食。不过，软食通常富含脂肪。

But professor Marcenes says the biggest issue in tooth decay is both social and mental. He says the researchers found strong evidence that the mouth has a big influence on socialization. He says many people want to hide bad teeth. They smile less and communicate less.
但Marcenes教授表示，蛀牙的最大问题是社会和心理双方面的。他表示，研究人员发现了强有力的证据，口腔对社会化具有很大的影响。他说很多人希望掩饰坏牙，这样就笑的少，社交也少了。

Wagner Marcenes is calling for an "urgent, organized, social response" to the widespread lack of oral health. He believes in a natural method to fight tooth decay by having a healthier diet. He is also calling for the development of new and less costly dental materials and treatments.
Wagner Marcenes呼吁对口腔卫生的普遍缺乏采取紧急、有组织的、社会化的应对。他推崇通过健康饮食这样的自然方法来与蛀牙做斗争，他还呼吁开发新型低廉的牙齿材料和疗法。