I always understood it to be more along the lines of orthodontia/orthodontists being more common in the US, along with cosmetic dentistry procedures.
Plus, I imagine like everything else, while the average in the US may be lower than the average in Western Europe, that’s totally subject to all the problems averages have. So if you’re white, middle class and don’t live somewhere very rural, chances are you’re going to have pretty good teeth. People spend a LOT of money on teeth in the white middle and upper classes- straightening, whitening, capping, etc…
Meanwhile, there seems to be some tiny degree of truth to the “toothless hillbilly” stereotype, in that I can’t say I’ve ever seen anyone missing teeth unless they’re a (presumably poor) white rural person, or in a very few cases, older minority people.
Here in Canada, dental work is not generally part of the healthcare system. typically, I assume like USA the dental plan is a employer-paid perk that is fairly common. (Although I worked with some people with abysmal teeth who were on very good plans, so I assume fear of dentists is also an issue).
It seems to me there are two classes of North American teeth - those that have coverage plans, and those that pay out of pocket. Dentists love the former, and try to have them come in for cleanings and checkups as often as the plan will allow. Typical coverage includes at least 50% of orthodontics, so most children whose parent(s) have a decent plan get braces and teeth straightening early, if needed.
I guess the question is - to what extent is this sort of thing covered in Europe, and how? To me, “Good Teeth” seems to be more of an indicator of income levels.
No, it’s not really the case that most Americans size one another up by comparing their teeth. We’ll certainly notice when someone has bad teeth and unfortunately we are often unkind to those who cannot afford decent dental care. When the singer Jewel gained popularity in 1995, there were some people who made fun of her because he teeth weren’t perfect.
Most dental plans available through your employer here in the United States are somewhat limited. I have a decent dental plan, and it only covers $1,500 in expenses per year though I get one set of x-rays and 2-3 teeth cleanings at no out of pocket cost. And if I ever had a serious dental problem, there’s a good chance I’ll need to spend more than $1,500 in a single year never mind if I get a lot of cosmetic dental work done.
NHS rates for dental work aren’t free (at the point of treatment), but they are limited to three bands of fee. Dentists themselves are (pretty well always) unhappy with what the NHS pays them and expects for each band of treatment, which is why there have been times when they won’t take NHS patients, or even won’t set up business in some parts of the country.
And, of course, the NHS has never funded purely cosmetic orthodontics - there has to be a clinical justification. In the last couple of years, I notice that after the general check-up, my dentist no longer does a “scale and polish”, but will advise if there’s staining bad enough for the dental hygienist (not NHS - £60 a time). He doesn’t make a point of suggesting it routinely, though.
I’ve always been with NHS dentists. I have a “crowded mouth”, but no-one ever suggested orthodontics when I was a child. When my then dentist said my wisdom teeth needed to come out, which would best be done under general anaesthetic in hospital, I got them to take out one of the superfluous teeth that was completely double-parked, but when I asked about its companion that would have left a gap, the dentist was very discouraging about what realignment might be possible. No dentist since has said anything about it.
But my teeth aren’t rotting, far from it. True, I had a lot of fillings as a child and teenager, but what with fluoridation, electric toothbrushes and not eating so many sweets - well, on my last check-up the dentist told me I had a young man’s gums (I do hope he doesn’t want them back).
Not for adults, but they are for under 18s and those in receipt of some benefits, plus pregnant women. If, as has been mentioned, you can find a dentist…
It varies drastically by area; I recently spent a few years in Cornwall, and there were no dentists in the entire county taking on new patients (I think I did see one taking on paediatric patients) - I couldn’t even find a dentist taking on private patients, except the cosmetic clinics, who were advertising all over the place. There was an emergency dentist available, but you had to be in pain or have some other urgent need (filling falling out etc) to see them, and it was still tricky to get a slot with them.
Meanwhile the first place I called in Bristol (where I often went to visit friends) was happy to take me on as an NHS patient.
I think that what one can observe in the US is the effect of advertising and television. Just as advertising campaigns imbued in Americans a biologically ridiculous fear of ‘germs’, and bodily odors and functions, so that products could be sold to them which supposedly saved them from such, so the idea that even, gleaming white teeth is a necessary component of middle class appearance, is a triumph of marketing.
The beauty of these kinds of schemes is that, once injected into the cultural psyche, they are self- perpetuating, passed down the generations.
In the 1950s, my father was an army officer stationed in what was then Calcutta. He was part of a post-colonial team tasked with helping the Indian government with the transition after their independence in 47.
There were a lot of American companies, keen to do business where they had previously been frozen out, and they sent executive teams. A great many of them went back home, either sick or scared of getting sick, within a few weeks of arrival, It became a joke among the European community.
There were several theories, but the consensus was that middle-class Americans, having grown up in a hygienic cocoon, had little or no immunity to the common pathogens that abounded in a semi-tropical city built in a river delta. “Dirty” Europeans coped much better.
Knowing how to look after your health when visiting the tropics is a skill acquired by experience. I guess the British has been in India a long time and knew the tricks. It is rather more than drinking lots of gin.
Heard exactly the same stories about Indochina. For example, that you could recognize the American agents in Vientiane (as opposed to the French, etc.) by the fact that they would not eat the street food.
I remember reading a thread about “celebrities who look funny” on this board and some people really couldn’t get over Kirsten Dunst’s teeth (which I hadn’t even noticed).