Can Having Bad Teeth Effect You Mentally?

Having bad teeth can effect more than your dental hygiene. New research by Oasis Dental Care has revealed that having bad/discoloured teeth can affect your mental wellbeing too.

During a recent study they discovered that 14 million people across the UK think they have bad teeth, 70% of which feel it is having a negative impact on their lives:

• 5.4 million (39%) stated that they tried to hide their teeth or even avoided smiling altogether.
• 4.4 million (31%) felt less confident in public and had lower self esteem.
• 2.1 million (15%) felt depressed.
• 400,000 (3%) have stopped leaving their home because of their teeth.
• 1.4 million (10%) don’t speak as much as they would if they had better teeth.
• 1 million (7%) feel their love life has been affected.

More surprising was the difference between men and women.

Whilst only 26% of women admitted to having poor dental hygiene (compared to men at 33%), four out of 5 women were more sensitive to the impact of having bad teeth compared to just 63% of men.

What can you do?

Having bad teeth goes far beyond vanity. It can effect your emotional and mental well-being, influencing the way you approach life.

Yet having bad teeth is easy to remedy…

By simply taking better care of your teeth and enlisting the help of one of the following, you can have the smile and confidence you crave:

• Improve your dental plan – make sure you brush your teeth at least 2 times a day with a medium sized hard toothbrush, making sure your toothbrush works in a circular motion. If you have eaten/drank anything particularly staining, wait an hour then brush your teeth. In addition, try to floss every night.
• Visit your dentist – your dentist can offer your teeth a professional clean as well as help to mend croaked or cracked teeth by using caps, braces and veneers.
• Consider teeth whitening – if the root of your fears is due to teeth discolouration, teeth whitening can help you to make your teeth up to 11 shades whiter in 2 weeks. Dr George’s Dental White contains a 16% carbamide peroxide (the same gel dentists use) which when it enters the pores in your teeth, creates active oxygen that converts coloured compounds into colourless compounds.

 Any one of these method can help to improve the health and appearance of your teeth, so if you are one of the 14 million people in the UK who feel you have bad teeth, why not give these a try and make sure you are no longer a statistic.