Know whereof you speak, before you speak

[unixronin]

Or, "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt."

"The New Yorker's Malcolm Gladwell explains how good teeth go bad: 'People without health insurance have bad teeth because, if you're paying for everything out of your own pocket, going to the dentist for a checkup seems like a luxury.'  The British, of course, have socialized medicine, which we guess explains why they have such great teeth." --- James Taranto

I think he's trying (not very effectively) to be sarcastic there.  (The give-away being, of course, that he said something nice about socialized medicine.  In my experience, when Americans, particularly "conservative" ones, say nice things about socialized medicine, it's always meant to be sarcasm.)  Ironically, I should note for the record that I'm a British citizen, I'm currently 45 years old, and I have never in my life had a cavity.  Not one.  Stuff that up your attitude, James Taranto.

Comments

[elegantelbow.livejournal.com]

It's weird. Even the BBC commercial on my Vicar of Dibley tapes insults British dental work.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I sometimes wonder if it's some style-over-substance thing -- confusing a mouth of perfectly regular TV-newsanchor teeth forced into alignment with a mouthful of metal in high school with "good teeth", because the fillings aren't externally visible. I know very few Americans whom I know to have no fillings, and a large proportion of adult Americans I know have had to have their wisdom teeth removed, something which I rarely if ever heard of in England.

Personally, I suspect Americans on average would have a hell of a lot less cavities if they didn't drink so much cola. "New Poopa-Cola tastes foul AND stains clothes -- but wait, there's more! It also dissolves tooth enamel, at no extra charge!"

[elegantelbow.livejournal.com]

I suspect Americans on average would have a hell of a lot less cavities if they didn't drink so much cola.

That certainly seems likely. Doing less meth helps, too (have you heard of "meth mouth"?)

a large proportion of adult Americans I know have had to have their wisdom teeth removed

I wouldn't class that in the same category as fillings. Wisdom teeth are typically removed because there's just not room in the jaw for more teeth (largely, because existing teeth haven't fallen out).

confusing a mouth of perfectly regular TV-newsanchor teeth forced into alignment with a mouthful of metal in high school with "good teeth"

*nod*

Hollywood teeth are getting so white, there are people there who actually have a blue cast to their teeth from the whitening processes.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

(have you heard of "meth mouth"?)

Oddly, now that you mention it, no. I guess I just haven't lived in enough of the right wrong neighborhoods.

And yes, I know why wisdom teeth are usually removed. I just wonder if it's a side-effect of using metal braces to force teeth into alignments they don't actually naturally want to grow into.

Hollywood teeth are getting so white, there are people there who actually have a blue cast to their teeth from the whitening processes.

People are strange .... in feudal Japan, it was considered the height of fashion and breeding to have artificially-blackened teeth.

[elegantelbow.livejournal.com]

meth mouth (http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/EAF9AF25E3D71A938625704A00144DD9?OpenDocument).

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Bleeuch. What a mess. I am constantly amazed at the things people will do to fuck themselves up.

[juuro.livejournal.com]

I've heard it mentioned that the Japanese tooth-blackening fashion had its origins in the naturally decayed teeth of some high notable. Can you confirm or deny this?

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I couldn't confirm that myself, not being a scholar of Japanese history. But it wouldn't surprise me. The fetish of applique "beauty spots" in 16th-18th century Europe is a comparable example, in which a poor attempt to conceal plague scars turned into a mark of high fashion.

Fashion is weird and incomprehensible.

[jilara.livejournal.com]

Actually not plague. Syphillis.

[cymrullewes.livejournal.com]

a large proportion of adult Americans I know have had to have their wisdom teeth removed

I wouldn't class that in the same category as fillings. Wisdom teeth are typically removed because there's just not room in the jaw for more teeth (largely, because existing teeth haven't fallen out).

I liked having my upper wisdom teeth. They straightened my top front teeth. But the oral surgeon said they must come out because by the time they finished coming in on their own they'd have ground my teeth together. :-/

The lower ones, aiiiiie! let my gums get infected and HURT. Which was why I went to the oral surgeon in the first place.

[juuro.livejournal.com]

A Finnish orthodontist was visiting some family in the States. Their daughter was wearing -- what's the name for those things, braces? -- in her teeth. The orthodontist commented "Oh, those teeth are looking really good already."

The host family was appalled. The daughter had just begun her treatment. From a condition that in many civilised countries would have been considered highly satisfactory.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Yup. My point exactly. Yet multiple cavities, even multiple cavity fillings per dental visit, are accepted as perfectly normal.

[olafthunderfoot.livejournal.com]

i have all my teeth, few cavities and have never seen a dentist.

[jilara.livejournal.com]

My great-grandmother, who grew up in a sod house and lived on a farm MILES from any towns, let alone medical care, never mind dentists, had a mouthful of perfect teeth. Guess what, she didn't eat much sugar.

Me, I ruined my teeth while still in high school because of a fondness for bubblegum. (Since then, not eating much sugar and not drinking soda, most my dental problems have been based on the existing damage from the bubble gum days.) I think people should look at diet.

[smandal.livejournal.com]

Well, let's see some stats of dental problems.

According to WHO (http://www.whocollab.od.mah.se/countriesalphab.html), UK children have among the best teeth. It's possible that adults might be different, and perhaps we're confusing with Canada. :)

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

This seems to support my observation, given that the UK has a DMFT score (according to the WHO) of 0.9, on a low-is-good scale, while the US scores 1.28, almost 50% worse.

[olafthunderfoot.livejournal.com]

since i'm not in my e-mail, and i thought this would get a chuckle outta you,

That could lead to a buildup of electrical current that could cause overheating and a fire.

http://home.peoplepc.com/psp/newsstory.asp?cat=news&referrer=welcome&id=20050907/431e65c0_3421_1334520050907-745030644