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Laurence Bohan
Content Writer
Laurence Bohan
Content Writer

Laurence is a copywriter and trained journalist. His passion is creating insightful and educational content for dental professionals of every level. Outside of work, he enjoys watching sport, quizzing and spending time with his family.

According to the British Dental Association, 30 million dentist appointments were missed in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, equivalent to around 70% of all appointments. Health campaigners have raised fears that this could be particularly harmful to children and conditions such as mouth cancer could go unnoticed. Tooth decay and gum disease are more common problems that come from neglecting dental hygiene. While looking after our teeth properly, with very little work required, can result in them lasting us into old age.

To raise awareness of pandemic-related dental issues and to see how the UK compares to other countries, Kent Express compiled The Oral Health Index: the most "teeth conscious" countries. Our findings highlight the importance placed on dental hygiene around the world, and how each nation’s habits affect its dental health.

How We Did It

We compiled a list of the top 20 countries for dental care after analysing a complete global ranking list of the most teeth-conscious countries. This was based on data highlighting

  • the number of dentists per 10,000 people
  • sugar consumption
  • the prevalence of current tobacco use and
  • the average number of dentist visits per person each year.

A combination of all this data gave us a teeth-conscious score out of 100, indicating which countries place the most importance on their dental health. The data was readily available and came from sources such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service, The Department of Economic and Social Affairs in the United States, The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and The World Bank. The difficulty was making masses of data clear and easy to understand.

Rank Country Dentists per 10.000 people Annual sugar consumption per capita Equivalent sugar consumption in teaspoons Average dentist visits per year % of adults smoking or using tobacco Teeth conscious score
1 Qatar 6.2 2.4 kg 607 tsp n/a 14.0% 80.8
2 Oman 3.0 9.0 kg 2.252 tsp n/a 9.6% 77.8
3 Japan 8.0 14.9 kg 3.724 tsp 3 21.9% 76.7
4 Norway 8.7 22.7 kg 5.672 tsp n/a 13.0% 75.5
5 Uzbekistan 1.5 0.7 kg 172 tsp n/a 12.3% 74.8
6 Luxembourg 9.8 11.2 kg 2.800 tsp 1 21.7% 74.5
7 Syria 7.2 20.1 kg 5.014 tsp n/a n/a 73.9
8 Libya 8.8 26.1 kg 6.513 tsp n/a n/a 73.3
9 Germany 8.6 0.4 kg 109 tsp 2 28.0% 72.8
10 North Korea 2.2 0.1 kg 29 tsp n/a 18.8% 71.1
11 Jordan 7.1 21.5 kg 5.366 tsp n/a n/a 71.1
12 Maldives 2.0 3.7 kg 925 tsp n/a n/a 70.8
13 Paraguay 1.6 8.1 kg 2.033 tsp n/a 12.8% 70.2
14 Nigeria 0.2 7.8 kg 1.953 tsp n/a 4.8% 69.4
15 Panama 3.0 28.3 kg 7.069 tsp n/a 6.9% 69.2
16 Ethiopia 0.2 7.6 kg 1.890 tsp n/a 4.6% 68.3
17 Tajikistan 1.6 7.5 kg 1.887 tsp n/a n/a 66.3
18 Armenia 5.6 4.0 kg 1.012 tsp n/a 26.7% 64.8
19 Netherlands 6.6 33.9 kg 8.475 tsp 3 23.4% 64.7
20 Afghanistan 0.7 0.8 kg 199 tsp n/a n/a 64.6

Key Stats

Coming out on top as the most teeth-conscious country is Qatar, with one of the lowest sugar consumption rates in the world, a low proportion of people smoking and a large number of dentists at the community’s disposal.

The UK ranks 68th on the index, only seven places above the USA, which is renowned for its sugary diet. People in the US, on average, consume almost 73 pounds (33kg) of sugar each year. This is equal to three pounds (640g) of sugar a week*. The UK in comparison, have an overall teeth conscious score of 54.3 with 5.3 dentists per 10,000 people and an annual sugar consumption of up to 22.1kg per capita.

Guatemala, in Central America, is ranked the least teeth-conscious country, consuming 436kg of sugar per person per year, which is equivalent to almost half a million teaspoons. The country scores a mere 12.6 on the index, compared to Qatar’s score of 80.8.

North Korea, Germany and Uzbekistan have the lowest sugar consumption per person per year, totalling 310 teaspoons between them. Eating 280 times this amount of sugar each year, the Caribbean island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines tops the list for sugar consumption.

Japan has the highest number of dentist consultations per year with three per person, closely followed by the Netherlands and Israel. Meanwhile, Portugal, Mexico and Costa Rica have the lowest.

Sweden, San Marino, Cuba and Argentina have the highest number of dentists per 10,000 people, while Mali, Uganda and Equatorial Guinea have the fewest dentists.

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Rank Country Avg. annual dentist visits pp.
1 Portugal <0.1
2 Mexico 0.1
3 Costa Rica 0.1
4 Chile 0.2
5 Columbia 0.3
6 Romania 0.4
7 Ireland 0.4
8 North Macedonia 0.6
9 Serbia 0.6
10 United Kingdom 0.7

Which Countries Visit the Dentist the Least Often?

Our analysis found that out of the 38 countries data was collected for, the UK ranks 29th for the number of dentist appointments attended.

The situation in the UK seems to be worsening, as a new report by Mydentist (the largest provider of NHS dentistry) reveals millions of Britons are missing out on the professional care they need. One in five people have even taken dental treatments into their own hands, according to The Great British Oral Health Report. It surveyed 2,026 adults and revealed 53% have not seen a dentist in the past year, with 56% of these saying it was because they were unable to access one***.

Which Countries Visit the Dentist the Most Often?

Data sourced from The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that Japan had the highest number of annual visits to the dentist per person. A separate study, the inaugural 2021 Global Healthy Thinking Report by international oral healthcare company Sunstar, supports the case for Japan’s high level of dental hygiene. The report found that only 12% of people in Japan have missed dental appointments during the pandemic, the lowest worldwide**.

The Netherlands closely followed Japan for average dental visits per year, with three visits. According to Maaike van Schaik, of Amsterdam dental clinic Tandarts Jordaan, the Dutch approach to dental care is very much focused on prevention, trying to stop problems developing in the first place.

Rank Country Avg. annual dentist visits pp.
1 Japan 3.2
2 Netherlands 3.0
3 Israel 2.3
4 Lithuania 1.7
5 Czech Republic 1.6
6 Korea 1.6
7 Canada 1.5
8 Estonia 1.5
9 Germany 1.5
10 Italy 1.4

Methodology

The Oral Health Index analysed the conditions associated with poor oral hygiene across 185 countries, to determine which nations place most importance on dental care. Although 185 countries were analysed in total, we selected 178 to feature in the index.

The countries selected had provided sufficient information on a range of factors, including tobacco prevalence and sugar consumption. Data-driven research such as this must take into account the lack of reporting in many countries.

Four categories were used to analyse how dental hygiene-conscious each country was:

  • Dentists per 10,000 people
  • Sugar consumption per capita
  • Average number of dentist consultations per year per person
  • Prevalence of current tobacco use (% of adults)
  • Additionally, the equivalent sugar consumption in teaspoons was included to give readers a clearer idea of the amounts involved.

Each factor contributed a score to a country’s overall ranking. The country closest to a score of 100 was considered the most teeth-conscious country and the lowest-scoring country was considered the least teeth-conscious nation.

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