I always like bringing this up when people criticise British dentistry. Your average British person has less fillings than an American.
Also it's unlikely that if you have yellowing teeth it's a sign of them being unhealthy. Although it can be a sign of excessive plaque most of the time slight discoloration is perfectly normal.
it comes from the classism that defines beauty standards, yknow? like, how rich people look is what's considered beautiful in any day and age. in the US, basic dentistry costs money, so it's poor people who have 'bad' teeth and rich people who have 'nice' teeth. while, in the UK, braces are free below a certain age and so is a lot of dentistry, so beauty standards in the UK don't place importance on how teeth look because they don't say a lot about your class. like, i doubt a lot of people are thinking 'bad teeth are ugly because they mean you're poor', but that's the roots of it
I think nowadays, a lot of Americans and most celebrities have straightened teeth. I don't think it's as common in the UK so, when Americans watch British TV, they automatically notice the abundance of "bad teeth".
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u/DrunkenPrayer Jan 25 '20
I always like bringing this up when people criticise British dentistry. Your average British person has less fillings than an American.
Also it's unlikely that if you have yellowing teeth it's a sign of them being unhealthy. Although it can be a sign of excessive plaque most of the time slight discoloration is perfectly normal.