A large amount (40%) of tooth surfaces don’t get clean with a toothbrush alone …
Which means there’s a lot of food debris and old plaque hiding between your teeth. The easy answer? A tiny interdental brush – it’s far less faff than flossing.
Plaque contains about 1,000 different species of bacteria
Nothing to add here, other than gross.
Fifteen percent of us have a problem smiling
A smile is a powerful tool when it comes to anything from charming our way out of a parking ticket (worth a try, right?) to persuading a toddler into a pushchair, so life must be tricky for the 15% of adults who, according to the most recent Adult Dental Health survey, say they have difficulty smiling. It usually comes down to the appearance or placement of the teeth – and the impact of fewer smiles could well be more severe than we might think because …
We have six different smiles to convey happiness
And while it might be comforting to think that you can spot a fake smile by simply looking at the person’s eyes, it turns out that about 71% of us can contract the muscles responsible for producing “genuine” eye-crinkling smiles voluntarily.
Babies start smiling 15 weeks before they’re born
Smiling is such a fundamental part of human interaction that, at 22 weeks, an unborn baby will start smiling reflexively. Some doctors have theorised that it’s an indication of their carefree existence up to that point, while others argue that it’s a form of preparing for their life outside of the womb. Whatever the reasons, one thing is undeniable: it’s just absolutely adorable.
The UK cosmetic dentistry industry is worth £2bn
According to market research group Mintel, we’re so obsessed with having the perfect smile that, each year, as a nation it is estimated that we collectively spend billions on whitening, straightening and generally primping our teeth. Which might go some way to explaining why, despite the fact that across the pond we have a reputation for bad teeth and wonky smiles, on average, Brits actually have better oral health and fewer missing teeth than our US counterparts. In fact …
The average Briton is missing fewer teeth than the average American
The actual number would be 6.97 for the average adult here in the UK, and approximately 6% of us have no natural teeth at all. But, according to a study conducted by University College London and Harvard University, that’s not as bad as the US, where the average American is missing 7.3 teeth. Thank you, NHS.
More than a third (34%) of us are afraid to go to the dentist
The good news is that there are dental teams who specialise in treating nervous patients – it’s all about confidence and time. Ask at your local practice for information. Prevention is always better, more comfortable and far cheaper than cure.
Read more at tepe.com/uk
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