According to new research carried out by Colgate Total Pro Gum Health, people in the West Midlands are the worst in the UK when it comes to looking after their teeth. The results showed that 50% of people in this area clean their teeth once a day or less – with 9% admitting that they didn’t bother to pick up a toothbrush in twenty-four hours sometimes.
The next worst are Londoners, closely followed by people in the North East. Experts recommend brushing twice a day for at least two minutes; those that don’t are leaving themselves open to tooth decay and gum disease.
The study also revealed that the healthiest region was the South East, where 77% of residents brush twice a day or more – this was only marginally ahead of Yorkshire, where 76% of people clean their teeth at least twice a day.
Dentist Richard Guyver – who founded the Diabetes and Dentistry Organisation – described these statistics as ‘worrying and quite surprising’ given that dental hygiene products are easily available in the UK. He said ‘It is also not particularly expensive or time consuming to care for your teeth, especially when compared to the cost of fixing any problems later on’ adding that ‘The recommendation is to brush twice a day at least, but ideally after every meal. That cannot always happen, for instance if you are at work, but brushing twice a day is really important.’