Do you think it's fair...

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

...to assume that Brits have bad teeth? I ask because these days we get bombarded with adverts for tooth paste, most promising to promote whitening. Additionally, mouth wash is a big money spinner.

HOWEVER.

I must confess that many high profile Brits DO appear to have problem teeth.

What do you think?

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I'm not a fan of stereotyping of any kind. so my answer is "no".

 

[PollyannaMom]

Probably not, but I expect most Brits find it a harmless laugh rather than actually upsetting.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Not necessarily bad teeth, but maybe a bit long in the tooth.

 

[tvguy]

Well, as luck would have it I was at the Dentist today and I was curious......since here in the U.S. that we seem to be bombed with TV ads for dental implants.......about her experience as to whether Americans have such bad teeth that many of us need implants. My Dentist is from the U.K. and went to Dental School. Her comment kind of is related to the question OP is asking. She said in America, Dentists do a lot more cosmetic Dentistry and her classmates in the U.K. do. So, I'm not sure if the British are born with bad teeth, but they just are less likely to have cosmetic Dentistry done.
She graduated from Dental School in 1993 and she said she had never seen a Root Canal in the U.K., there the tooth at that time would be pulled, and a bridge installed, but in many cases in the U.S. the patient would elect just not to replace the tooth.

 

[RDR_BU]

 

[justafigment27]

Americans have become obsessed with perfectly aligned, wide, white smiles.

If you look back to movies from the 80’s, the younger actors have straight teeth and the older ones may have some crooked ones here and there. Teeth aren’t artificially big or perfectly white. You see natural tooth color.

Then whitening your teeth became the thing and everyone was getting white teeth.

Now straight and white isn’t good enough.

You need veneers. We are conditioned to think veneers are what teeth should look like …

 

[TiggerTrigger]

In this vein, DD15 had her braces removed last week. Before they were removed, we were offered complimentary enameloplasty to fine tune the little bits of natural uneven areas in her smile. As it was, things went longer than average to correct the most minute little things. She didn’t need it, but we were also given instructions if we opted for professional whitening to finish things off. With DD17 I also learned that retainers are now a forever thing. Both girls have permanent retainers for their bottom teeth, removable retainers for the top, and a mold in case we need new retainers created. Of course, this is all in addition to routine dental visits every 6 months. I never hear about anything like this with my friends outside of the US.

 

[robinb]

...to assume that Brits have bad teeth? I ask because these days we get bombarded with adverts for tooth paste, most promising to promote whitening. Additionally, mouth wash is a big money spinner.

HOWEVER.

I must confess that many high profile Brits DO appear to have problem teeth.

What do you think?

I think that Brits, at least older ones, do indeed have bad teeth. Have you ever looked closely at Eric Idle at the end of Figment? But adverts for toothpaste and mouth wash is universal.

 

[mousefan73]

Isn’t the US the only country that adds fluoride in the water?

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

Isn’t the US the only country that adds fluoride in the water?

Interesting you should say that, because just yesterday I was reading up on when chlorine was added to the UK water supply... people were terrified, with news paper headlines screaming, "KILLER GAS IN WATER SUPPLY!"

 

[tony67]

I think part of the issue is dental care is just different in other countries, for the most part Dental Insurance is just not as common. I cant speak to the Uk specifically, but Ireland is very similar.

In general you don't go for a cleaning every six months like we do here. I know people who are doctors and nurses and they don't go for regular cleanings and really only go to the dentist when there is an issue. Part of that is because they don't have dental insurance, its just not a common thing. I think that is more the reason for that stereotype.

I know people who came where in their 20s (in the 80s and 90s) and had only been to the dentist to have a tooth pulled or a cavity drilled.

As I understand it, historically the problem goes back to drinking lots of tea with sugar. The tea stains teeth (so does coffee) and we all know what sugar does.

All that said - I do think it much less of an issue in modern times, but the folks in their late 40s and up is a different story.

BBC did write about this in 2015
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32883893

 

[TheIncredibles!]

Stereotypes are hurtful. Brit's don't have bad teeth, they just put less importance on straight teeth than we Americans do. My teeth would look horrid also if it wasn't for my 3 years of torture when I was a teen.

Also I am of British descent so....

 

[sam_gordon]

About as fair as Americans being thought of as overweight and lazy.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

My country has Kentucky and West Virginia in it. Therefore, I refrain from cracking on peoples teeth in other countries.

I think we do a lot of cosmetic dentistry here that make teeth look better. But it's not necessarily indicative of better teeth, just prettier teeth.

 

[GoingSince1990]

It's more of a cultural thing. Whereas all American celebrities and politicians are expected to have perfectly aligned teeth, with veneers if necessary, older British people tend not to care about this nearly as much.