Brushing your teeth twice a day, cleaning them for at least two minutes, and visiting the dentist once a year are the staples of oral hygiene learned from an early age.
A new study from health and beauty tech retailer Currys, surveyed 2,000 people across the UK to explore the nation’s oral hygiene habits, and results show that Brits still have a lot to learn. More than 6 in 10 Brits (63%) say that they brush their teeth for less than two minutes, and 16% of the nation says that they clean them only once a day. In addition to not following the basics, 40% of Brits say they struggle to get to a dentist when they need them.
The nation is losing their smile: is it bad hygiene or the fear of the dentist?
Oral health has been linked to self-esteem, and this is proven in several US studies, for both adults and children.
In the UK, data reveals that nearly 4 in 10 people (38%) are not confident about their smile, and a staggering 59% of them consider their teeth to be discoloured or yellow.
The data paints a similar picture in the Greater London area where more than a half (56%) of people consider their teeth to be discoloured or yellow, with more than a third of them (35%) not being confident in their smile.
The majority of people in the Greater London area (84%)—similar to the national average—clean their teeth twice a day. However, 15% still think that brushing only once a day is sufficient. Nearly a quarter (24%) of people in London don’t follow the recommended two-minute minimum, brushing for one to two minutes. More alarmingly, a similar percentage (22%) of Londoners spend only 30 seconds to 1 minute on their oral hygiene by brushing.
Not following basic oral hygiene practices or being unable to secure a dentist appointment can lead to serious health problems. For example, an untreated tooth infection can easily spread to surrounding tissue and other parts of the body, potentially resulting in hospitalisation in only the best-case scenario.
Fear of the dentist, also known as dental anxiety or dentophobia, is one of the main barriers to securing a timely appointment. It is a common issue, with recent research confirming that 41% of Brits suffer from it. Another obstacle to good oral health, either on its own or combined with dental anxiety, is the difficulty in getting a dental appointment when needed, which was highlighted by nearly the same percentage of people in the UK (40%).
Nearly a third (32%) of Londoners also battle with fear of the dentist, but for more than 4 in 10 (41%) the reason why they don’t go to the dentist more often is cost while 10% of people in London say they are struggling to get a dentist appointment when needed.
Bad breath tops the list as the worst off-putting dental attribute
So, while bad oral hygiene and struggling to get a dentist appointment can affect health and lead to poor self-esteem, it also carries some social consequences too.
Bad breath was flagged across the nation as one of the worst observable dental habits for a significant number (73%) of people, followed by missing teeth (41%) and smoke on the breath (40%).
Londoners agree that the most off-putting dental attribute is bad breath, with missing teeth coming in second, and smoke on breath emerging as the third most off-putting dental attribute in the region.
You can find more about the study here.
