to wonder why the british have such manky teeth

[iloveberries]

okay so extreme title but on the whole british people have worse than average teeth... why is this?

I am british and don't have very nice teeth so i'm not slagging off brits!

All the americans and canadians i know have amazingly white (natural) teeth. Why is this? Do they put fluoride in the water?

I really want DS to have nice white teeth (because my teeth made me so upset all my life). Apart from the obvious (brushing, milk after fruit etc) what can i do to help him?!

Flouride makes a massive difference obviously so one way to help your children have better teeth is to not rinse immediately after they brush teeth. Flossing is also crucial. Juice has virtually no nutritional value, and fizzy drinks are to be avoided as much as possible.

Some teeth I've seen in Britain are shocking, even among well-heeled professional types. A successful American would pay to sort that out, but I suppose the culture is just more about appearance and vanity - on average.

Things seem to be changing though ...

because we don't floss.....

I'm an American -- my brother's teeth are mostly grey/black (very bad even for an American diet) and my teeth were full of problems before I came over here even with my father's expensive dental plan. I think things were often put off to make them worse (and bring in more money for the dentist) whereas over here in the UK I find things are dealt with rather quickly and as they come up rather than wait/see/root canal that I experienced there.

I am quite envious of my British's hubby's lovely white mostly straight teeth.

My American husband has perfect teeth, that I'm quite envious of. My children, on the other hand, have inherited my English smile, and we're currently paying for two sets of braces - ouch!

British teeth are normal.

American teeth, hair, makeup, tans... all more likely to be "enhanced" and fake.

Last time I went to the Ideal Home Show, there was a teeth bleaching stand and people were queueing up to have their teeth whitened.

You do realise the ridiculousness of saying that most british people have worse than average teeth?

IME, I've seen loads more bad teeth since I moved over here from the U.S.

My family always had dental insurance. The water was fluoridated in the city I lived most of my childhood in. I had a plate and headgear to wear at night starting at age 8-9 to correct my overbite, and had fixed braces from age 12-14. I saw the dentist every 6 months, and had a cleaning by a hygienist at each visit.

I was definitely not unusual. My parents weren't rich (nurse and social worker). I definitely wouldn't have said they were vain either, though they both had fixed braces as adults (in their early 30s).

I think it is just different over there with the way dental insurance works. If you have it, you don't really think much about it.

At first when I moved here I was a bit at how lax dentists seemed to be and it was weird for me just having a dentist look for a minute, say 'everything is fine' and be out of the office for another year. But gradually I realised that for the NHS to cover everyone, people like me who have relatively good teeth can be left alone!

U.S. health insurance and dental insurance is great if you have it. Not everyone has it, and people are left to suffer, so I'd personally rather my teeth get a bit dingier if it means EVERYONE is entitled to regular, basic dental care.

Americans who can afford dental work generally have decent teeth. But with the insurance nightmare in the States, very few people can afford decent dental care these days.

I grew up in a middle-class area in the States and most of my friends (including myself) had the whole braces thing as well. We were dragged to the dentist every 6 months from a very young age. The attitude in the States is that the smile is the first thing people notice about you---so if you want to be taken seriously/respected, your teeth need to appear to be cared for. By comparison, I don't perceive a similar attitude here. You'll find plenty of well-educated, respected, wealthy individuals with horrible teeth. It just isn't a priority.

Fluoride in the water makes a tremendous difference, as well.

Because the dentist cleans their teeth very, very regularly and very, very painfully. I don't know anyone that whitens their teeth but all my friends do have beautiful teeth.

I hope we don't go the Transantlantic route of obsessing over cosmetic dentistry. There are far more important things to prioritise

Isn't the water fluoridated in bits of the UK too?