One third of millennials only brush their teeth once a day, according to a new study.
Even in adulthood, the research revealed that Americans can be neglectful of their oral hygiene, with 62 percent reporting that they were too scared to go to the dentist.
Skipping the ritual sounds harmless enough, but going without brushing and flossing has been linked to health risks ranging from gum disease to dementia and even erectile dysfunction.
The study, conducted by market research company OnePoll and commissioned by a toothpaste brand, adds to recent work that has identified startling links between oral hygiene and income disparity and overall health in the US.
One third of people between 18 and 34 in the US only brush their teeth once a day – and nearly as many are scared of going to the dentist, new research reveals
The American Dental Association only asks that we dedicate four minutes of our day to brushing our teeth.
But new research suggests that these two stretches of two-minutes spent on oral hygiene are too much for millennials to bear.
Brushing and flossing help to minimize plaque, a clear sticky film that builds up on teeth and gums from bacteria that live naturally in the mouth.
When this film is left on teeth for too long, it can harden into unsightly tarter that draws more tooth- and gum-damaging bacteria.
The prospects of bad breath, cavities or losing teeth or gums is threatening enough, but higher levels of bacteria have also been found in the mouths of people in dementia and may increase susceptibility to pneumonia.
A growing body of evidence on the link between gum disease and heart disease has even led the American Heart Association to deem gum disease an early marker of heart problems.
But the findings of the new survey of 2,000 people suggest that many Americans may fear a visit to the dentist even more than any of those potentially life-threatening illnesses.
When asked to compare the fear-factors for a number of medical appointments, 62 percent of Americans said that a trip to the dentist was scarier than all others – outranking visits to neurologists or surgeons.
In the survey’s ‘would you rather’ section, a third of respondents would forego sex for a month if it meant avoiding the dentist, and 19 percent preferred speaking to a crowd of 50 to some one-on-one time with an oral doctor.
The fear is real for everyone, but a bit widespread among millennials: 24 percent of people over 55 said they were uncomfortable going to the dentist, and 27 percent of those between 18 and 34 were.
But that fear does not seem to have translated into hygienic practices to avoid the (apparently) dreaded dentist trips.
Three in every 10 millennials admitted that they usually only brush their teeth once – which doesn’t bode well for their flossing habits or lifetime oral health.
Craig Dubitsky, founder of Hello Products, which sponsored the research, told Daily Mail Online he wonders if the generation’s lax attitude toward oral hygiene might be related to the fact that they are ‘spending less time together [in person] and more time together online.’
‘Online, you can enhance your teeth, but you can’t Photoshop yourself to good health,’ he said.
‘Research has shown that there are many linkages to oral health and your overall health,’ said Dr Lawrence Fung, a dentist in Los Angeles.