Why is there a stereotype that British people have bad teeth? Do they really have bad teeth?
Well- in terms of actually having “bad” teeth, I’m not sure that there is much more tendency than the rest of the world, although we do sometimes refer to something called a “Hollywood smile” or “All American Smile” – very white, straight and probably cosmetically enchanced teeth, associated with the US, which is sometimes viewed as being quite fake. One possible explanation for the rumour is that its incredibly difficult to get a dentist in Britain (particularly if you live in Wales!). Unlike most medical treatments it doesn’t come free on the NHS and we get quite resentful about having to pay for it. NHS dentists (the cheaper kind) are becoming like gold dust as they increasingly defect to the better paid Private sector, which is out of most people’s price range (40 for a check up? I don’t think so…). I personally know of people who have to travel 200 miles or more to visit a dentist with space on their books – its hardly suprising that a large number of us decide to take our chanc
