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Nov 17, 2021 - minute readminutes read

Discover The World’s Largest Oral Care Survey

The Global Healthy Thinking Report is a new worldwide consumer oral health awareness survey carried out across 15 countries revealing an amazing snapshot of oral health, habits, concerns, and desires across the globe. 

It is the largest survey of its kind, totaling 15’000 respondents aged 18 to 65 and originating from various countries across Europe, Asia and North and South America. Individuals were questioned about their views on oral health, their dental routines and habits, and even the effect of the pandemic on their health. 

 

Content

Same but different

The findings of the survey revealed that globally, we really do care about keeping our mouths healthy! More than 53% of respondents brush their teeth at least twice a day, with 35% ensuring they brush with fluoride toothpaste for two minutes, and 39% regularly brushing their tongue too. This is good news!

Yet there are also differences across countries. Every population does some things well but may falls short of on other counts. Take for example: 

  • Italians: Are the most disciplined - up to 33% say they never forget to brush their teeth. Yet 26% reported having used household bleach to whiten teeth!
  • French: 28% say they brush their teeth immediately after every main meal. They however, score poorly in Europe in terms of cleaning between teeth.
  • Germans: Have the best dental practice habits - 45% visit an oral care professional twice a year! Sadly, 27% admit smoking is the nr 1 harmful habit they would like to give up for their dental health.
  • Dutch: Are the happiest with their teeth – 18% do not want any cosmetic treatment. They are also the best in Europe in terms of cleaning between teeth (35%). Yet only 14% understand the link between oral and general health
  • British: 40% say they have NO problem with their teeth. Britain however has the smallest percentage of people brushing straight after eating.
  • Spanish: are at the top in Europe, in terms of regular mouthwash use (41%), yet less than half of Spaniards brush their teeth twice a day.

If only we could all learn from each other! 

Education matters

The SUNSTAR GUM® survey highlights the importance of good dental education to establish effective oral care habits in people’s daily lives:

  • The top excuses for not brushing teeth are ‘forgetting’ 32%, wanting to go straight to bed (24%) and being in too much of a rush in the morning (19%). 
  • The oral health issue which troubles the largest number of people around the world is tooth sensitivity with 30% of respondents reporting some form of sensitive teeth.
  • Tooth whitening is by far the most popular option worldwide if people were to choose one treatment to improve their smile - 47% of Italians, Mexicans and Spanish chose this, closely followed by 46% of Chinese.

Interestingly, the SUNSTAR survey showed that while the relationship between smoking and oral health is well understood, only 21% of the respondents in the survey understood the relationship between a healthy mouth and a healthy body. 

A model country!

There is one country that stands out when it comes to understanding this critical relationship between mouth and body health - Brazil. 94% of Brazilians (the highest worldwide) believe there is a link between oral and general health. Brazilians show some great oral care habits:

  • 52% of Brazilians clean between their teeth regularly (best score in the survey)
  • 59% also brush their tongue daily
  • Just 2% (the lowest worldwide) said they never seek advice from a dentist

The pandemic has changed things

Although the pandemic gave rise to new challenges for oral health care such as 28% of individuals reporting missing dental appointments and having ‘Mask breath’, the survey also discovered that individuals globally have started cleaning their teeth more regularly as a result.

Let’s join forces

As professionals there is still a lot we can do to help people establish healthy oral health habits around the world. We at SUNSTAR GUM are dedicated to transforming oral care into enjoyable moments of complete self-care and to helping people understand how important their dental habits are for their oral health as well as their general health.

Harness the findings of the Global Healthy Report to help your patients build regular dental habits and achieve complete oral health care!

Download the full report now:

 

 

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT

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