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Do Brits have bad teeth?

British people have terrible teeth. That’s the stereotype - but is it true? And what’s the story behind it? Ben Henderson and Alice Loxton explore how Brits got a reputation for bad teeth.

British people have terrible teeth. That’s the stereotype - but is it true? And what’s the story behind it?

Ben Henderson and Alice Loxton explore how Brits got a reputation for bad teeth thanks to our love of sugar, and we see how British and American teeth took wildly different paths after the Second World War.

Key Sources:

June Thomas - Journalist.

The Bad-Mouthing of British Teeth - Decoder Ring podcast.

Drills, Dentures and Dentistry: An Oral History - BBC Four.

Dr Irwin Smigel - The Times.

Austin Powers bites back: a cross sectional comparison of US and English national oral health surveys - British Medical Journal.

Release date:

28 minutes

On radio

Wed 28 Oct 202620:00

Broadcast

  • Wed 28 Oct 202620:00

Watch the visualised podcast on BBC iPlayer

Watch the visualised podcast on BBC iPlayer

Alice Loxton and Ben Henderson reveal the historical roots of everyday life.

Podcast