Poor teeth / rich world

[Saffron]

http://aeon.co/magazine/health/the-shame-of-poor-teeth-in-a-rich-world/

What's the Brit perspective on this article? My sister-in-law (a dentist in the States) found it offensive on the basis personal choice, not poverty, is the main contributing factor to poor teeth.

I don't agree with her, because I think it's hard for children to outrun some of the elements of poverty that contribute to poor dental health.

Should dental health (and personal hygiene) be taught in schools? Or is that solely parents' responsibility?

[Bob Buzzard]

I'm not sure about. I have seen a specialist endodontist for root canal work, and I've also had a dental implant done by peridontal specialist. I've recently had a chipped lower molar whicg isd a little bit painful so I might need a CEREC restoration for that one. But I've never had any dental health lessons at school.

[Saffron]

I think my SiL finds the article offensive bc she sees patients who have neglected their teeth, but still feel entitled to what little free/low income support there is in the US for dentistry in general.

How much of that is poor choice vs poor education? I don't know. And I've certainly never felt a sense of entitlement to dental care in Britain, more a resignation to how limited NHS dental support often (not always) is.

Also, the article's point about people judging you by "poor" teeth in the US has some truth to it... maybe not so much here?

[Loz]

When I was a kid in Australia a mobile dentist went to every school once a year to do check-ups, fillings and to teach dental health to each and every child.

[Nigello]

Sounds like a somewhat (stereo)typical reaction from a US upper-middle-class (for that is what being an MD etc makes you in the money-based class system over in the States) dentist. She has a point: nobody is making the bad-toothed person not take care of their teeth but s/he is much more likely to be poorly informed than a middle-class person (by which I mean, in States vernacular, anyone with a mortgage and a job).

I have friends brought up in the '70s and '80s who have about one filling each. I think all of them were from areas where water was fluoridated.

Education is important and should be given freely and early in the child's life but personal and parental responsibility has to take over.

[Blah Blah]

It's also worth pointing out that it's not always poor dental hygeine that leads to dental decay, but lack of visits to the dentist. Fear of the dentist is a real issue, often formed through negative childhood experiences. If you then combine that with not everyone's teeth being the same, then some people will need more treatment no matter how well they look after their mouth. Some people have stronger teeth that are less prone to decay than others, just as some people have acidic imbalances in their saliva that subject their teeth to more attack than others. Teeth root into bone, so if you have healthy bone you are going to do better than if you have problems. It is also possible to overbrush, just as brushing within 40 mins of a meal is the wrong time to brush (at one time people were encourage to brush immediately after every meal).

It stands to reason that where heathcare is private, poorer people can't afford to see a dentist as often, just as in the UK, only limited treatments are allowed on the NHS and the result is that many people who can't afford private dentistry lose teeth that would be saved under private treatment. Even the quality of something like a crown, is inferior in materials on the NHS.