Bong-Man Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?...3228&page=1 Britain's Bad Smiles Revealed Britons Treating Dental Problems Themselves By GABRIEL O'RORKE LONDON, Feb 12, 2009 The Brits and their bad teeth have been the butt of many an American joke. A recent online survey conducted in the U.K. may help to explain why the Brits and their bad teeth have often been the butt of many an American joke. A recent online survey conducted in the U.K. may help to explain the cause of the national stereotype: Some are practicing dentistry on themselves at home. No surgery, no sanitation, no equipment and a lot of pain. Which?, a British consumer magazine, asked customers online last month if they had ever performed dentistry on themselves. And of the 2,631 adults asked, 210 said they had. The do-it-yourselfers described procedures ranging from popping an ulcer with a pin to pulling out a tooth by tying a piece of string to a door handle. From this unofficial poll, which the British government has denounced, Which? estimated that as many as 3 million Brits look after their own teeth, which would work out to about 5 percent of the U.K.'s estimated 61 million residents. The consumer magazine found that fear of the dentist was the most common reason for avoiding the dental clinic. People would rather check their bank balance, go to the gym or hit the shops on a busy afternoon than sit in the dentist's chair. The survey found that more than a quarter of do-it-yourselfers had tried to pull out a tooth with pliers, 11 percent had used household glue to stick down a filling or crown, 8 percent had tried to mend dentures themselves and 6 percent had stuck down a loose filling with chewing gum. The most common home-dental procedure, however, is tooth whitening, with 30 percent attempting to whiten their teeth with household cleaning products. The British Dental Association (BDA) strongly advises against resorting to do-it-yourself care. Susie Sanderson, chairwoman of the BDA executive board, said, "While worries about accessing or paying for dental care can clearly be a concern, it really isn't advisable to resort to do-it-yourself care. We hear too many horror stories about people pulling out the wrong tooth, or causing themselves to have an infection, and urge anyone considering this path to think again." (cont. at link) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ady Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 People should use this: £6 a tube, but you get your money's worth. I currently visit the dentist for a check up and scrape and polish every 9 months Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilith Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?...3228&page=1 Britain's Bad Smiles Revealed Britons Treating Dental Problems Themselves By GABRIEL O'RORKE LONDON, Feb 12, 2009 The Brits and their bad teeth have been the butt of many an American joke. That's disgusting (the bit about the DIY dentistry, not being the butt of American jokes! ) - not to mention plain stupid! I'm British, and I look after my teeth, go to the dentist every six months like I'm supposed to, and I'm told I have lovely teeth! I had orthodontic treatment in my teens and my teeth whitened about 5 years ago (due to too much tea and red wine!) All my treatment was carried out by a dentist, not by myself! I wouldn't dream of using the DIY approach to dentistry - much better left to the experts. Having said that, there has been a lot of hoo-ha in the British media over the past few years about the shortage of NHS dentists in the UK. For anyone who doesn't know the British system ... health care and dentistry are two of the things covered by the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. It used to be that you found a dentist, registered with them, and you were entitled to free or low cost treatment for life. Dentists were paid by the NHS, a government-funded organisation. Then the government made changes to the way that dentists were paid under the NHS contract - not good changes, which resulted in dentists leaving the NHS in droves, and setting themselves up as private patient-only dentists. Thousands of people were left unable to find a dentist who would accept them (or their families) as NHS patients, and as they couldn't afford private dentistry, they simply never saw a dentist from one year to the next. The situation seems to have eased a little in recent months, following an influx of dentists from other EU countries. I know people who didn't see a dentist for 5 years or more, because they couldn't get an NHS dentist, and couldn't afford to pay to go privately. Sorry for the public information broadcast - I got a bit carried away there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ady Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 That's disgusting (the bit about the DIY dentistry, not being the butt of American jokes! ) - not to mention plain stupid! I'm British, and I look after my teeth, go to the dentist every six months like I'm supposed to, and I'm told I have lovely teeth! I had orthodontic treatment in my teens and my teeth whitened about 5 years ago (due to too much tea and red wine!) All my treatment was carried out by a dentist, not by myself! I wouldn't dream of using the DIY approach to dentistry - much better left to the experts. Having said that, there has been a lot of hoo-ha in the British media over the past few years about the shortage of NHS dentists in the UK. For anyone who doesn't know the British system ... health care and dentistry are two of the things covered by the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. It used to be that you found a dentist, registered with them, and you were entitled to free or low cost treatment for life. Dentists were paid by the NHS, a government-funded organisation. Then the government made changes to the way that dentists were paid under the NHS contract - not good changes, which resulted in dentists leaving the NHS in droves, and setting themselves up as private patient-only dentists. Thousands of people were left unable to find a dentist who would accept them (or their families) as NHS patients, and as they couldn't afford private dentistry, they simply never saw a dentist from one year to the next. The situation seems to have eased a little in recent months, following an influx of dentists from other EU countries. I know people who didn't see a dentist for 5 years or more, because they couldn't get an NHS dentist, and couldn't afford to pay to go privately. Sorry for the public information broadcast - I got a bit carried away there! My dentist went private and the price only increased very slightly. I claim most of it back from free health insurance I get from work anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilith Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 My dentist went private and the price only increased very slightly. I claim most of it back from free health insurance I get from work anyway. Gosh, that's really good! I have private health insurance from work as well, but it doesn't cover dentistry. When my previous dentist went private, he told me that the brace which my son would need in a year's time would cost me £2000! Luckily I found a new NHS dentist a few months later, and my son has nice straight teeth now - at zero cost to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdistancewinner Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 You know, I don't know anyone with really bad teeth. Why is it we have this stereotype? I've never really understood it. Was there some stupid in-joke I've missed out on for years? I go to the dentist every six months, and the only problem I have is that my dentist is Polish. He's a nice man, does his job well, I just can't understand a word of what he says... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ady Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Gosh, that's really good! I have private health insurance from work as well, but it doesn't cover dentistry. When my previous dentist went private, he told me that the brace which my son would need in a year's time would cost me £2000! Luckily I found a new NHS dentist a few months later, and my son has nice straight teeth now - at zero cost to me. What a relief! I can understand the DIY jobs some people do with prices like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ady Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 You know, I don't know anyone with really bad teeth. Why is it we have this stereotype? I've never really understood it. Was there some stupid in-joke I've missed out on for years? I don't know. I'd never heard of it until I first got internet access a few years ago. There are hundreds of answers here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/...,-22429,00.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanna be drummer Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 You know, I don't know anyone with really bad teeth. Why is it we have this stereotype? I've never really understood it. Was there some stupid in-joke I've missed out on for years? This might be why Americans on left, Brits on right Ricky Gervais is the first to admit that his teeth are neither white nor straight - and Americans mistakenly think he wears bad false teeth for comedic purposes. Why the dental divide? British teeth are not like American teeth. Hollywood smiles are pearly white paragons of straightness. British teeth might be described as having character. "These are my real teeth. You think I'd wear them all the time if they weren't real?" Ricky Gervais' reply to interviewer remarking on his 'false teeth' So much character, in fact, that Ricky Gervais says one US journalist complimented him on being prepared to wear unflattering false teeth for his role as an English dentist in his latest film, Ghost Town. Only he didn't. "He was horrified that I could have such horrible real teeth. It's like the biggest difference between the Brits and the Americans, they are obsessed with perfect teeth," says Gervais. Unlike many British stars hoping to make it big across the Atlantic, Gervais hasn't bought himself a Hollywood Smile. But what is it about the bright white and perfectly straight teeth of Los Angeles that Americans love - and expect of their public figures? PROUD/ASHAMED OF YOUR TEETH? SEND YOUR PICS E-mail: yourpics@bbc.co.uk, subject TEETH MMS from UK: 61124 Int MMS: +44 7725 100100 Terms and conditions "Americans have the idea uniformity is equivalent to looking good. The British character is more free-spirited, more radical," says Professor Liz Kay, dean of the Peninsula Dental School in Exeter and Plymouth. She says Americans aspire to a row of teeth which are absolutely even and white. Artificial smile Whiter than white, it transpires. Teeth naturally vary in colour and the palette can tend closer to cream than white. "US teeth are sometimes whiter than it is physically possible to get in nature - there is a new reality out there. The most extreme tooth bleaching is terrifying, it looks like it's painted with gloss paint and has altered what people perceive as normal," says Professor Jimmy Steele, of the School of Dental Science at Newcastle University. The British traditionally prefer "nice natural smiles - natural in colour", he says, and have had a more functional view of teeth and dentistry, whereas Americans have always seen teeth more aesthetically, hence the rise of the artificial smile in show business and pop culture. Cue jibes such as The Bumper Book of British Smiles which cajoles Lisa Simpson into having a brace, and Mike Myers' mockery of buck-toothed Brits in Austin Powers. Conversely, in the UK the snide remarks are saved for those who have had obvious work done, such as Simon Cowell or glamour model Jodie Marsh. When it was widely reported that Martin Amis had secured a book advance in 1995 to help "do his teeth" - which the author denied - he was lampooned by critics. And more recently there has been much speculation over whether Gordon Brown has had a smile makeover. Until now it has been considered rather un-British to go for an upgrade, says Professor Steele. He now performs cosmetic dentistry on a wide spectrum of patients, from an 82-year-old woman with overlapping teeth who finally wanted to "do something for herself", to a 17-year-old worried that fluoride had given her mottled teeth that were whiter than normal. But the main difference is that Brits tend to go for more conservative treatments. "Dental tools can do an awful lot of damage if used inappropriately. Crowns can mean a perfectly good tooth has to be cut down, which can weaken the tooth or damage nerves in the long run," he says. Metal mouth While it is starting to be more common to see braces on adults, most people opt for quicker solutions, says Martin Fallowfield, a cosmetic dentist and executive board member of the British Dentist Association. "Quite often teeth whitening is a 40th or 50th birthday present," he says, a procedure that can be done in a dentist's chair in two hours for about £650. A more intensive "smile makeover" - perhaps involving veneers, crowns and reconstruction work - can take months and cost anything from £2,000 to £10,000. Dentistry in the UK is a £5bn market, and Mr Fallowfield expects this to rise to £15bn within 10 years, largely fuelled by private cosmetic dentistry. While NHS dentists are in short supply in parts of the country, the number of dentists registered with the General Dental Council is up from 31,029 in 2000 to 35,419 in 2007. On average, cosmetic procedures account for a third of a dentist's income from non-NHS work, according to research by the British Dental Association. Among Mr Fallowfield's patients is Jenny Horton, 36, who has had four crowns redone, six new ones added and her lower teeth whitened after she had a baby. "The first thing I notice on people is their smile," she says. "I wanted a confidence boost - I was putting my hand over my mouth before, now I can smile. And the compliments have come flooding in: people haven't noticed my teeth, but say I look well." But Brits haven't embraced the full Hollywood makeover - yet. "Americans don't mind this unnaturally white look. It's a new phenomenon, like buying a Rolls Royce and telling the world. They are wearing a smile as a badge," says Mr Fallowfield. Nor do aspiring actors and actresses need to get a new and very expensive set of pearly-whites, says Sylvia Young, of the eponymous theatre school. "A trip to the orthodontist can be a good idea, to get the teeth straightened if need be." As for the likes of Ricky Gervais, it makes sense to stick to his guns, says Mr Fallowfield. "A lot of people in his place would have had their teeth fixed in this day and age. But for comedians, it's good to look unique." " http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/uk_news/magazine/7633254.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electrophile Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 I always thought the Brits had bad teeth because they didn't have fluoridated water until recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUCK'EYE' DOC Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 I have an obsession with teeth! On Wednesday, I am getting braces for the second time. This will just be a touch up as my lower teeth are slightly crooked. I will only have to wear them for six months at the max. They are the clear ceramic type that don't show much. No metal mouth. Cost will be a little over $2000. No insurance. I had braces about 10 years ago for the first time. Both sons and I wore them at the same time. Talk about expensive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternal light Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 In the United States you can usually find a dentist who will allow you to make flexible payments and who tries to keep the costs down if you are in a low income bracket for any reason. This is because dental care costs so much more in the long run when you neglect your health in the first place. In addition there was a study that suggested periodontal disease correlates to heart disease. New Study Confirms Periodontal Disease Linked to Heart Disease http://www.perio.org/consumer/bacteria.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mangani Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 You know, I don't know anyone with really bad teeth. Why is it we have this stereotype? I've never really understood it. Was there some stupid in-joke I've missed out on for years? It seems to be an American thing. I had never heard of this stereotype until the Austin Powers movies.....and I've been all over the world. The only 'bad teeth' stereotype I ever recall growing up with was the Japanese one. It might come from the war years when a lot of American troops were stationed here. Back in those days a lot of people in England did have bad teeth. Another American stereotype is about Brits drinking 'warm beer'. I've never known ANYBODY here to drink warm beer and pubs don't serve 'warm beer'. It's a myth. Sure, real ales are not served so ice cold that you can't taste anything but even real ales are not served 'warm'. Never. Yet, Americans must have got that from somewhere??????? By the way, the article is bullshit. There aren't 3 million Brits doing DIY on their teeth. It's just a magazine survey.....and we all know how truthful they can be. It's not a medical fact. Anybody who believes that is wacko. I think the NHS dental service is good, myself. Only a couple of months ago my girlfriend had an accident with her teeth. She phoned up all the private dentists in the area and they were asking for £300 and couldn't see her for at least 2 days. Then she phoned up the NHS emergency helpline (which many people don't even know exists) and they fitted her in for an appointment for just 3 hours later and it only cost £16. What a difference. We were only waiting for 10 mins in the waiting room and were in and out in 45 mins in total. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHD Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 This might be why Americans on left, Brits on right http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/uk_news/magazine/7633254.stm I am sure there are plenty of Americans with bad teeth! To use Tom Cruise as an example (as he is in the photo colage) his teeth were terrible when he was first on screen. His, and hundreds of other Hollywood smiles, are due to the fact they have veneers (and a Hollywood salary to afford them). Imo, having these flashing one dimentional smiles can have the opposite effect and look rather ridiculous...especially as you get older. I have always looked after my teeth, plus I have been blessed with good strong teeth ( and I am a Brit!). They are not completely straight, you don't need sunglasses when I smile....but I am happy as they look natural. I am often complimented on my smile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninelives Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 I am sure there are plenty of Americans with bad teeth! To use Tom Cruise as an example (as he is in the photo colage) his teeth were terrible when he was first on screen. His, and hundreds of other Hollywood smiles, are due to the fact they have veneers (and a Hollywood salary to afford them). Imo, having these flashing one dimentional smiles can have the opposite effect and look rather ridiculous...especially as you get older. I have always looked after my teeth, plus I have been blessed with good strong teeth ( and I am a Brit!). They are not completely straight, you don't need sunglasses when I smile....but I am happy as they look natural. I am often complimented on my smile You're right - many Americans have bad teeth. I think it's just a matter of how one takes care of them. And you do have a beautiful smile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdistancewinner Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 It seems to be an American thing. I had never heard of this stereotype until the Austin Powers movies.....and I've been all over the world. The only 'bad teeth' stereotype I ever recall growing up with was the Japanese one. It might come from the war years when a lot of American troops were stationed here. Back in those days a lot of people in England did have bad teeth. Another American stereotype is about Brits drinking 'warm beer'. I've never known ANYBODY here to drink warm beer and pubs don't serve 'warm beer'. It's a myth. Sure, real ales are not served so ice cold that you can't taste anything but even real ales are not served 'warm'. Never. Yet, Americans must have got that from somewhere??????? By the way, the article is bullshit. There aren't 3 million Brits doing DIY on their teeth. It's just a magazine survey.....and we all know how truthful they can be. It's not a medical fact. Anybody who believes that is wacko. I think the NHS dental service is good, myself. Only a couple of months ago my girlfriend had an accident with her teeth. She phoned up all the private dentists in the area and they were asking for £300 and couldn't see her for at least 2 days. Then she phoned up the NHS emergency helpline (which many people don't even know exists) and they fitted her in for an appointment for just 3 hours later and it only cost £16. What a difference. We were only waiting for 10 mins in the waiting room and were in and out in 45 mins in total. Exactly. Some of these stereotypes are laughable. The older generation probably had bad teeth because the NHS didn't come into affect until after the war. I suppose a lot of Americans saw servicemen with bad teeth, during their time here, and it's carried on to the present. What bothers me is that some people actually believe you have 'bad' teeth if they aren't pure white. Not if they're crooked or missing, but off-white. Some people actually see us as being unhygienic if we're not that bothered about having pearly white knashers. What's wrong with being natural? Maybe I'm a slob, but those British smiles posted by Wannabe aren't god awful. Hell, I've seen worse - and they weren't British, either. And, Miss H, you have a gorgeous smile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bong-Man Posted February 13, 2009 Author Share Posted February 13, 2009 Come now.....One of you Brits out there is brushing their teeth with Windex. Give it up ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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