Worries centre on teeth

If we follow advice from the British Dental Health Foundation, we spend at least 24 hours a year, a whole day, looking at our mouths in the mirror as we clean our teeth.  With these statistics in mind it should come as no surprise that results of a recent survey commissioned by Align Technology, reveals that nearly 40 per cent of us worry about the appearance of our mouth at least once a day, rising to over 50 per cent in the 18-29 age range.

Worries relating to our mouths centre more on teeth, than the peripheries (lips, cheeks, chins). More than half of us worry about the colour of our teeth, while 24 per cent dislike their “overcrowded, gappy or goofy appearance”.

40 per cent of respondents stated that straightening one’s teeth is the most attractive improvement that can made to the look of the mouth and the majority of those surveyed indicated having their teeth straightened was the greatest improvement they had made to their own mouths. However, a significant number of people are yet to take the step, even though they would like to; 31 per cent of respondents would like to change the alignment of their teeth.