America is one of the world’s most industrialized and modern countries — so one might assume that its citizens have the best dental hygiene in the world as well.
However, this is less true than you think — a lot less true. In fact, according to a 2013 report on therichest.com, the U.S. doesn’t even rank in the top 10 dental health care systems in the world.
To learn more, take a look at these five other facts about dental hygiene in America that may shock you:
1. We neglect recommended daily dental hygiene routines: It is usually recommended that everyone brush their teeth twice a day and floss at least once a day. Yet a surprising 31% of Americans don’t floss every day, and only 56.8% of women brush their teeth twice daily.
2. We don’t visit the general dentist often enough: Because of the high cost of dental insurance throughout the country, many people neglect their dentist because they think it’s too expensive. As a result, a major percentage of Americans don’t visit the dentist twice a year, which is what experts recommend.
3. We have high rates of periodontal disease: Regular dentist visits are essential to making sure your teeth stay clean and free from serious complications. But since so many Americans don’t visit their dentist as often as they should, an astounding 74% of the population has some form of periodontal, or gum, disease.
4. We are susceptible to conditions that require an emergency dentist: By neglecting our dental health, we put ourselves at greater risk for things like tooth decay, tooth loss and even dental abscesses — all of which require costly visits to an emergency dental clinic.
5. We spend billions to help repair our teeth: Because of the poor dental hygiene practices and lack of adequate dentist visits mentioned above, a massive 30 million Americans are missing one or more teeth. As a result, the dental implant and cosmetic dentistry industry has grown significantly as we look for ways to fix our dental problems, and will continue to do so. See this link for more references.
