Also, gum disease is actually potentially way more deadly than you'd think: between the porous parts of the teeth, and the surface area of all the gum tissue surrounding them, it's like exposing yards and yards of your skin to disease germs and poisons. There's a correlation between diabetics' health and their dental health because of this hidden vulnerable surface area situation.

Any Pie Left: Also, gum disease is actually potentially way more deadly than you'd think: between the porous parts of the teeth, and the surface area of all the gum tissue surrounding them, it's like exposing yards and yards of your skin to disease germs and poisons. There's a correlation between diabetics' health and their dental health because of this hidden vulnerable surface area situation.

There goes my sleep tonight. Thanks a lot.

Best and subtlest type of the month.

Of course I meant typo. Heh.

Haven't they known this for years? Isn't that why people like my 23-year-old niece who has a heart murmur has to take antibiotics prior to any dental visit?

Then again, as acanuck implied, this is a British study and maybe they haven't been kept as up to date on this information as other countries.

Do Brits generally have poorer dental care than other developed countries? Or is this a type-casting myth that just won't let go?

ecmoRandomNumbers: Bagelox-99: Best and subtlest type of the month.

Yup. That was pretty good.

Wow, I had to look that up. Learn something new every day.

LadyHawke: I just started using a Sonic-care toothbrush.

Electric toothbrush is really the way to go and for you ladies it can also be used as a vibrator in a pinch!

No. If you don't brush your teeth you're probably lazy or you have other issues that cause you to not care about life. And if you're lazy then you probably are too lazy to work out and eat right. If you don't care then you probably don't care about taking care of your body too, or you have too much stress in your life. All things that lead to heart attacks.

Anaia: Do Brits generally have poorer dental care than other developed countries? Or is this a type-casting myth that just won't let go?

Grew up with Canadian dentists, now use British ones. I'd say treatment is of the same quality, perhaps the only difference is that they don't use fluoride treatment here. Also, dentists in the UK are much cheaper than in Canada (and, I'd guess, the US).

Bravo, subby.

Not so fast, stereotypes:



(from http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displaystory.cfm?subjectid=3 48945&story_id=15060097 )

I don't believe this because it comes from non-USA scientists and I'm told that other countries don't do research because they have nationalized health care.
Nice try, subterfugey.
\USA
\\USA, USA

bricktron: Not so fast, stereotypes:



(from http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displaystory.cfm?subjectid=3 48945&story_id=15060097 )

So what about adults?

Seems like some cherry picked nonsense to me.

Subby---> ...caries...

Is this the name of the heart-attack-inducing indifferent dental disease?

Oldnews.jpg?

some swedish girl: No. If you don't brush your teeth you're probably lazy or you have other issues that cause you to not care about life. And if you're lazy then you probably are too lazy to work out and eat right. If you don't care then you probably don't care about taking care of your body too, or you have too much stress in your life. All things that lead to heart attacks.

Well said!

While I'm positive there is a connection between bacteria and disease, there is also another obvious connection.

People who don't brush their teeth tend to have other poor hygiene and diet habits too.

That being said I always mouthwash after flossing. Just makes good sense.

LadyHawke: I just started using a Sonic-care toothbrush.



Not particularly effective against gum disease.

How can a person not brush thier teeth?

/nasty

Buffet: some swedish girl: No. If you don't brush your teeth you're probably lazy or you have other issues that cause you to not care about life. And if you're lazy then you probably are too lazy to work out and eat right. If you don't care then you probably don't care about taking care of your body too, or you have too much stress in your life. All things that lead to heart attacks.

Well said!

I wouldn't be amazed if there were health issues that stem from poor oral care, but I'd be absolutely amazed if the majority of studies on the matter have completely failed to eliminate this third variable of overall poor health primarily being the result of the person not giving a shiat about their health.

Anaia: Haven't they known this for years?

It was newer news in 2005 (pops).

First of all, +1 to The Bird. That's why I came.

2.) Brickton - that would be an AVERAGE chart. not a RATE chart correct?

US estimated population July 2009 (don't know why it's so out of date) ~307,006,500
Britain estimated population ~61,414,062

Of course we're going to have a higher average!

In turn these can cause heart attacks and strokes, which together cause more than 200,000 deaths in Britain every year.

Seems low for Britain.

/amiright, ladies?

MYitAt4: First of all, +1 to The Bird. That's why I came.

2.) Brickton - that would be an AVERAGE chart. not a RATE chart correct?

US estimated population July 2009 (don't know why it's so out of date) ~307,006,500
Britain estimated population ~61,414,062

Of course we're going to have a higher average!

[img sr"mf'in LOL WUT pear"]

SilentStrider: Curious that this is being reported by the British.

Who would know better about bad dental hygiene?

Strepococcus! Is there anything it can't do?

Wonko Fortytwo: caries

Correction fail

pchmm: Wonko Fortytwo: caries

Correction fail

Knowledge fail (new window)

MYitAt4: First of all, +1 to The Bird. That's why I came.

2.) Brickton - that would be an AVERAGE chart. not a RATE chart correct?

US estimated population July 2009 (don't know why it's so out of date) ~307,006,500
Britain estimated population ~61,414,062

Of course we're going to have a higher average!

Average per child = rate

No error bars though... who knows if the difference is meaningful

Wonko Fortytwo: Subby---> ...caries...

Is this the name of the heart-attack-inducing indifferent dental disease?

Caries are cavities.

Phil Herup: According to MIT, what is the one invention Americans can't live without?


CLICKY to find out

I'm glad to learn that.

meat0918: Anaia: Haven't they known this for years? Isn't that why people like my 23-year-old niece who has a heart murmur has to take antibiotics prior to any dental visit?

Then again, as acanuck implied, this is a British study and maybe they haven't been kept as up to date on this information as other countries.

Do Brits generally have poorer dental care than other developed countries? Or is this a type-casting myth that just won't let go?

A "nice" smile is not as big a measure of a person in Britain as it is here.

Due to dental care being on the NHS (or just heavily subsidized for adults), the average dental health is better in the UK than the US - because less people fall through the gaps or don't have any coverage and can't afford treatment. But to get that extra coverage without paying loads for it, it means you are very unlikely to be recommended for "cosmetic" improvements to your teeth (due to the way they get paid from the NHS it isn't particularly good for them compared to the time spent), whereas in the US that is quite common if you have dental coverage you would in a similar situation - after all it is the insurance company paying for it.

I have also seen people discuss the idea that in the US having poorly looked after teeth is essentially used as one of the markers for class, which doesn't seem an unreasonable idea on the face of it.

It must be said before frequenting places like Fark I hadn't heard of it before - maybe the odd time in the Simpsons or similar, but not enough to realize it was such a widely held belief. I think I read somewhere it was believed to go back to the 18th and 19th centuries when the vast majority of British people that someone from the US would meet would be a sailor, and of course mild cases of scurvy often presents itself as rotting of the gums and then teeth (I think lesions the legs are another common early sign), and that is where the belief stems from. But you never know whether these sorts of things are really true, or just they are reverse engineered much later.

Anaia: Do Brits generally have poorer dental care than other developed countries? Or is this a type-casting myth that just won't let go?

Statistically the British have the healthiest teeth in the world (joint with Germany). I have no idea where the myth comes from or why people genuinely believe it. (As opposed to Farkers who just quote it because it's a meme.)

BarryJV: Anaia: Do Brits generally have poorer dental care than other developed countries? Or is this a type-casting myth that just won't let go?

Statistically the British have the healthiest teeth in the world (joint with Germany). I have no idea where the myth comes from or why people genuinely believe it. (As opposed to Farkers who just quote it because it's a meme.)

I think it comes from a disparity between ideals of beauty between the two sides of the pond. In the US cosmetic dentistry has gained such widespread acceptance (perhaps because of Hollywood?) that an ideal of un-natural perfection has become standardised. Teeth so white as to be obviously artificial, teeth so straight as to be clearly impossible. As part of this our American farkers have been taught to equate a particular aesthetic with hygiene.

Whereas, in the UK teeth have a more workmanlike role. If they allow you to chew your food, if they have no holes and your overbite does not make you look like you are trying to eat your own chin, then why pay someone a whole heap on money just to show everyone you are vapid, shallow and vain?

bricktron: Not so fast, stereotypes: (from http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displaystory.cfm?subjectid=3 48945&story_id=15060097 )

That chart is not a good measure of overall dental care and particularly is not good for measuring whether British adults have teeth that look worse (and are worse) than American adults. It's 12 year olds. It includes children whose cavities have been repaired, which is really a measure of good dental care, not poor care.

What would be more enlightening is finding out the average number of years between dental office visits for British adults and American adults. I'm not going to look up the stats, but it wouldn't surprise me if the figure for Brits was well over 4 times longer between appointments as Americans.

We need to compare the number of British adults with missing teeth, crooked teeth, badly stained teeth, rotten and broken teeth and compare that to American adults. If you've ever been to both countries, you'll know immediately that middle class Brits have far worse teeth than middle class Americans. Teeth just aren't a big of deal over there for some reason. I work with Brits right now that have never been to the dentist in their life. I know another that has only gone to get teeth pulled. One Brit, an engineering no less, recently commented to me that I shouldn't be getting my teeth cleaned every 6 months because it will eat my enamel.