Dental Fun Facts

 

How much is the Tooth Fairy paying per tooth? Around $2 per tooth, according to Securian Dental Plans, an insurance provider. (12/05, Money Magazine)

Top of the American teeth stakes in the poll for greatest looking teeth were Hollywood actors Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts. 

     AAP’s recent consumer survey found:

	50% consider the smile the first facial feature they notice
	80% are not happy with their smile
	Respondents were 7 times more likely to have periodontal, smile enhancement procedures, than facelifts
	Smile enhanced procedures outnumbered eyelid surgeries 5 to 1

    32% of Americans cite bad breath as the least attractive trait of their co-workers.
   38.5 total days an average American spends brushing teeth over lifetime.
   73% of Americans would rather go grocery shopping than floss.

   60% of people who don't know that a sore jaw, when combined with chest pain, can signal a heart attack-especially in women

  38.5 = the total days an average American spends brushing teeth over a lifetime.

  73% of Americans would rather go grocery shopping than floss.

  Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush be kept at least six (6) feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush.

  A toothpick is the object most often choked on by Americans.

   Every year, kids in North America spend close to half a billion dollars on chewing gum

The number of cavities in the average mouth is down and people are keeping their teeth longer.   People, on average, have healthier mouths than even 10 years ago.  Specifically:

---The decline in tooth decay was greatest among kids but holds across every age group. 
---Only 40% of  young people age 6 to 19 had ever in their lives had cavities.  That’s down from 50% a decade ago.
---Over the last ten years the proportion of people age 60 who’d lost all their teeth had decreased from 33% to 25%.
---Use of dental sealants, which block tooth decay on the chewing surfaces of kids’ vulnerable molars, was up 64%.  30% of kids had had at least one sealed tooth.
---Adults with post-high-school degrees had an average of three more teeth than those without a high school diploma.
---Smokers remain three times more likely than non-smokers to lose all their teeth.  This figure has not changed from a decade ago.
---Socio-economic status plays a definite role in one’s general and dental health....33% of low-income adults have untreated decay.  This compared with 16% of middle- and higher-income adults.  19% of kids living in poverty have untreated decay compared with 8% of wealthier kids. CDC & ADA 1/06

ADA video news releases: Visit ADA org: Video

More people use blue toothbrushes than red ones.

  Like fingerprints, everyone’s tongue print is different 

The average toothbrush contains about 2,500 bristles grouped into about 40 tufts per toothbrush.  The tufts are folded over a metal staple and forced onto pre-cored holes in the head and fused into the head with heat.  The handle is made of at least two materials, usually plastic and rubber.  The grips used for the handle is: precision, power, spoon, oblique and distal oblique. AGD Impact 2/2003

The average woman smiles about 62 times a day!
A man?  Only 8!
Kids laugh around 400 times a day.
Grown-ups just 15:-(
Smilers in school yearbooks are more likely to have successful careers and marriages than poker faced peers

According to a 1997 Gallup Poll, dentistry is the fifth most trusted profession in America. Another recent Gallup Poll indicated that dentists generally get high marks from consumers for their interpersonal skills and delivery of quality care.

  A survey by Louis Harris and Associates reported that 83 percent of American adults were very satisfied with services received from their dentists. A recent Gallup Poll also reported that 92 percent or the respondents stated that they would recommend their dentist to someone else.
IDF  Joseph Chamberlain, D.D.S

Tooth decay remains the most common chronic disease among children ages 5-17 with 59% affected.

More than 51 million hours of school are lost each year by children due to dental related illness.

Employed adults lose more than 164 million hours of work each year due to oral health problems or dental visits.

Just 40% of children in poor or near-poor poverty level had a preventive dental visit in the past year.

44% of dental care expenditures are paid out-of-pocket.
Source: Issue Briefs on Challenges for the 21st Century: Chronic and Disabling Conditions

How people take care of their mouths is often a reflection about how they feel about themselves. At  birth the only fully developed organ is the tongue.  It is needed for sucking.  For the first two months of life our mouth is our primary organ.  We use it for survival,  expressing ourselves and to explore our new world.  Consequently it is very significant in our unconscious mind.  Because of this it is my opinion that how we take care of our mouths is a reflection of how we feel about ourselves.  People who feel good about themselves take good care of their mouth and people who have a poor self image generally do not take good care of their mouth.  Marvin Mansky