It has long been said that the English have terrible teeth compared to the Americans - but that actually may not be true.
New research shows Americans do not have better teeth than the English - in fact, their dental health is worse.
A study by a team from the UK and the US has found the average number of missing teeth in smiles is slightly higher in the US (7.31) than in England (6.97).
People are also more likely to have poor dental health because of socio-economic factors if they live in the US.
Researchers examined data for thousands of people from the English Adult Dental Health Survey and the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey before reaching their conclusions.
As well as missing teeth, they looked at the effect of any poor dental health on people’s daily lives such as difficulty eating and avoiding smiling.
Levels of education and household income were also examined.
"In conclusion we have shown that the oral health of Americans is not better than the English, and there are consistently wider educational and income related oral health inequalities in the US compared with England," the team, including researchers from University College London (UCL), said.
"There is a longstanding belief in the United States that the British have terrible teeth, much worse than US citizens.
"This view dates back at least 100 years, with toothpaste adverts extolling the virtues of American smiles.
"Contemporary examples of this belief in popular US culture range from The Simpsons to the Hollywood character Austin Powers and his repugnant smile."
The study has been published in the Christmas edition of the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
New research shows Americans do not have better teeth than the English - in fact, their dental health is worse.
A study by a team from the UK and the US has found the average number of missing teeth in smiles is slightly higher in the US (7.31) than in England (6.97).
People are also more likely to have poor dental health because of socio-economic factors if they live in the US.
Researchers examined data for thousands of people from the English Adult Dental Health Survey and the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey before reaching their conclusions.
As well as missing teeth, they looked at the effect of any poor dental health on people’s daily lives such as difficulty eating and avoiding smiling.
Levels of education and household income were also examined.
"In conclusion we have shown that the oral health of Americans is not better than the English, and there are consistently wider educational and income related oral health inequalities in the US compared with England," the team, including researchers from University College London (UCL), said.
"There is a longstanding belief in the United States that the British have terrible teeth, much worse than US citizens.
"This view dates back at least 100 years, with toothpaste adverts extolling the virtues of American smiles.
"Contemporary examples of this belief in popular US culture range from The Simpsons to the Hollywood character Austin Powers and his repugnant smile."
The study has been published in the Christmas edition of the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
