We don’t receive any more visits from the tooth fairy for a long time. How beautiful the times were, when it visited us, left us a little something, took away our fear of visiting the dentist and motivated us to keep the right dental care. Nowadays we unfortunately need a little more motivation to give our teeth what they really need.
We spend an average of £200 per year on a wide variety of dental and oral care products, with an average monthly spend of £16.34. How much we spend on our smiles varies from city to city as shown in this graphic.
Did you know that we owe our toothbrush as we know it it to an inmate? Briton William Addis patented the first toothbrush in 1780 while serving time in Newgate prison for instigating a riot. At the time, teeth were still washed with a cloth and a crushed shell or soot, which he considered to be very ineffective. For this purpose, he hid a small animal bone left over from prison dinner, into which he drilled small holes. From one of his guards he then received some bristles, which he tied in tufts, passed through the holes in the bone and finally sealed with glue. Voila, the first toothbrush was born.
When it comes to oral hygiene German children are the world champions. According to an international comparison that takes a closer look at caries in children, the number of decayed, missing teeth and fillings is the lowest, even lower than in the UK and Canada.
Is oral hygiene just a marketing trick? Yes and no. Although there was a consensus early on that brushing teeth improved oral hygiene, it was not until the beginning of the 20th century that it became a daily habit. The US marketer Claude Hopkins wanted to sell toothpaste and promised that regular brushing would lead to beautiful white teeth. As we know, this alone is not a guarantee for white teeth, but his marketing coup increased the number of people brushing their teeth eightfold!
Those who think oral health is only for cosmetic reasons might find the following information useful. As our mouth is the "gate" to our body insufficient oral hygiene can lead to a higher risk of serious illnesses.
Almost all foods nowadays contain sugar, which is not only a problem for our dental health but also for our blood sugar levels. Despite being on decline, the sugar consumption worldwide is still above average for most nations, including the UK.
This sugar consumption is particularly bad for our teeth, because it attacks them from the first second. Above all, the enamel is attacked, which can also be irreparably damaged. This leads to a higher sensitivity for hot and cold food or drinks. Once the protective enamel is gone, even electric
Unfortunately, tooth decay is often discovered too late, when it has already noticeably damaged the enamel. If left untreated, tooth decay can also lead to complete tooth loss, as can be seen in the following graphic showing the stages of tooth decay.
Many people are still unsure which toothbrush is the better one. An electric toothbrush, or the good old manual toothbrush. Studies have now proven: the electric toothbrush helps to reduce gingivitis and plaque.
If you would like to improve your oral health with little effort and a long lasting impact after reading this, the best way to start is with a healthy diet.
