The GirlAlive Blog

The common perception of the British in America is that they all have stained brown crooked teeth.  Living here, a lot of it is true.  But here's the weird part: it isn't their fault.

I underwent years of orthodontia as a kid and when I moved here my teeth were relatively straight and white.  Since I moved here, they've been slowly changing.  I still brush my teeth twice a day, with the same toothpaste I used in the US (Colgate Total Plus Whitening).  I still floss.  I still use mouthwash.  And my teeth are turning brown and I'm getting a gap between my front teeth again.

The water here has no floride added.  That's part of the problem.  There is a lot of tea consumed here.  That may be part of it (though even the people who don't drink tea or smoke or anything like that still have brown teeth).  

I don't know what I'd have to do to keep my teeth white and straight to American standards, but it doesn't even seem possible here.  I don't know if it's just the water here or what, but my teeth are turning brown no matter what I do.

It isn't that the British don't brush their teeth.  It isn't that they don't go to the dentist.  They have oral hygiene equal with most Americans.  But something in this country is working against them.  I have no answers for why this is.  I just wanted you to know that you shouldn't view the British as ignorant of dental hygiene.  They do their best, but there's something in the water (or lacking from the water) or something.  The UK is not good for your teeth.

Alana