Do Americans or Brits Have Superior Oral Health?

Do Americans or Brits Have Superior Oral Health?

A team of researchers set out to determine who has superior smiles—Americans or Brits—and the results are surprising.  While popular belief in the United States is that those in England have terrible oral health—an idea cemented into the American consciousness by the popular 1990s film series featuring Austin Powers, a British spy with bad teeth—a new study published in the December 2015 issue of the British Medical Journal proves otherwise. 

Research teams based in both England and the US analyzed data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and its British counterpart, the English Adult Dental Health Survey. Oral health, education, and socioeconomic factors were included in the review. The teams looked at adults age 25 and older, recording number of missing teeth, oral health self-perception, and effect of oral health on daily life. Education level and household income were also included in the analysis. Perhaps surprising, the study revealed that Americans experience a higher incidence of missing teeth than the British (7.31 vs 6.97, respectively). Socioeconomic inequalities in oral health were also higher in the US.

The authors note that sugar consumption, number of cigarettes smoked, and other oral health risk factors were not considered in the research. Differences in policies for underprivileged patient populations between the two countries may have also impacted the results. Regardless, for now, the British can cite evidence that they have healthier teeth than their counterparts across the pond.

Hygiene Connection E-Newsletter

January 2016