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Why are Americans so obsessed with dentistry?
(kbin.social)
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this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2023
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I think an important distinction should be made between dentistry and orthodontics. I believe that in many countries with public healthcare, dental coverage is pretty normal. What many governments don't pay for is orthodontics (teeth straightening, braces, bite fixing, etc) and so most people go without it (eg memes about British people having crooked teeth).
In the USA, orthodontics is a huge industry. It's all about having straight perfect teeth. I don't know why it started, but the reason it's stuck around is mostly aesthetics and inertia IMO. If everyone around you has straight teeth, you'll feel left out if you have crooked teeth. It's also a huge moneymaker for dentists themselves. I avoided dentists for several years because I got tired of them trying to sell me expensive aesthetic services, like whitening or special bite splints.
Straight teeth last longer because they get more uniform wear and are easier to keep clean.
Also, a smile is the first thing you notice about someone and a nice smile is better than having a mouth full of snaggle toofs. But yeah, aesthetics...
You get orthodontics under German public health care, still US American teeth are something else entirely. It feels like basically everybody has veneers over there.
And yes, the UK is something else, too, when it comes to dental health care. Not in a good way, mind you.
I'm old enough to have adult children and I know one person with veneers.
I’m old enough to have grandchildren and I know exactly zero people with veneers (in Germany – I do know people from the US with). Is this a contest?
Veneers are extremely uncommon in the US. That's what they've saying. You said it seemed like everyone here had them.
The brits are something else, they don't count. I am from Central Europe and I was shocked when I saw the kind of teeth brits run around with.
You know, ads for dental hygene products over here advertise with "gives you fresh breath" or "makes your teeth white".
Over there they advertise with "prevents your teeth from falling out".
That said, the "American Smile" and the obsession with super white teeth is something else. White does not equal healthy and many bleaching methods are actually bad for the health of your teeth.
It’s not a secret (literally front page material) that over 10 million Brits cannot get dental healthcare they need. They’re pulling their own teeth at home, it’s completely unreal.
Edit: source (yes i know, it’s the mirror, it was just the first link that popped up): https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/desperate-patients-extract-teeth-11million-29379748.amp
I'm an American, but I am confident that in the UK, you can get cosmetic dental work done. You may have to pay for it -- like, it may not be an NHS thing -- but there is a private healthcare industry that exists alongside the state-run one in the UK.
their point was that the british dental healthcare is as adequately provided for as in the US, where children die from lack of dental healthcare. ie, its not.
Uh, yeah. Of course you can get private stuff. You can get that anywhere, lol. That was not the question.
I'd think that it is, given that the comparison in the comment you responded to is to orthodontics in the US.
If it is the Mirror I don't click it or believe it. Stop spreading propaganda.
What part of „it was the first link“ don’t you understand?
Stop spamming people’s inboxes just because you’re too fucking lazy to do a 2 min search.
Lol, nobody is forcing you to click on whatever links I post, IDGAF.
I’m not your fucking research assistant, stop being an entitled %#$, do your own fucking research and…
Edit: Alternatively, you can pay me 80€/h and I‘ll write an extensive paper about the dental health situation in the UK, happy to help.
This. I think every culture has beauty standards, and some of them inspire a lot of people to do pretty drastic procedures. It's pretty mainstream in America to covet straight, gleaming white teeth.
I'm guessing there's some long history of orthodontics in USA that intersects with phrenology, marketing to people's low self-esteem, and piggy-backing on government and orgs' campaigns for dental health (extrapolating from medical necessity to aesthetics.)
Also I think there's a weird thing where parents are paying for braces for their kids. Notionally parents want their kids to be confident, but I also sense an undercurrent of social signalling of wealth and status, along the lines of putting solar panels on the north roof of the house if that's where the neighbors will see them.