Health
Most Americans lie to their dentists, here's why
Over half of Americans are lying through their teeth — about their teeth.
That’s according to a new survey conducted by Talker Research and commissioned by Aspen Dental, which asked 2,000 American adults about their dental hygiene, as reported by SWNS.
The study spoke to the mixed emotions Americans experience when it comes to dental visits, including fear, anxiety and discomfort, which can often lead to delayed care.
BRUSH, FLOSS, MOUTHWASH: DENTISTS REVEAL WHAT THEY BELIEVE IS THE CORRECT ORDER
In the poll, 60% of respondents confessed to wanting to impress their dentist during office visits, leading 57% of them to fib about their dental hygiene.
Over half of those in the study confessed to wanting to impress their dentist during office visits. (iStock)
And yet, 48% of people said they believed their dentists could see right through their lies, according to SWNS.
Sixty-four percent of respondents said they felt guilty about their dishonesty. Millennials and Gen Xers felt the least guilty about lying compared to older Americans.
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A third of those who have lied to the dentist (33%) simply didn’t want their dentist to think less of them, while a fifth (19%) said they don’t mean to be dishonest, but that “panic lies” accidentally slip out, especially among Gen Zers (27%), per SWNS.
Obstacles to dental care
Anxiety is the biggest obstacle keeping Americans from visiting the dentist (24%), affecting 29% of women and 17% of men, the survey found.
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Twenty-two percent said the actual dental work put them off, with baby boomers feeling the most uncomfortable in that regard. And 13% have avoided the dentist’s office because they were embarrassed about their poor dental hygiene.
The survey also revealed that nearly a quarter of Americans (22%) had discomfort or soreness in their mouths at least once per week, with millennials experiencing more discomfort than other generations (34%).
More women than men expressed feelings of anxiety when it comes to dental appointments. (iStock)
These factors may contribute to the 45% of respondents who have not visited a dentist in the last year and the nearly one in five Americans (19%) who haven’t seen the inside of a dentist’s office in five years.
Nearly one in five people haven’t seen the inside of a dentist’s office in five years.
“Maintaining adequate oral health can be overwhelming,” Dr. Taylor Sutton, multi-practice owner and practicing dentist at Aspen Dental in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, told SWNS.
“That’s why it’s so important to have a dentist you feel comfortable connecting with, who shows empathy and leaves all judgment at the door.”
After leaving the dentist, respondents reported following improved dental habits for eight days before slipping back into old routines. (iStock)
Dr. Tracy Redden, multi-practice owner and practicing dentist at Aspen Dental in Boston, echoed the importance of proper oral care.
“Neglecting oral hygiene — whatever your reason — can lead to serious health issues,” she told SWNS.
“Your mouth is the gateway to your body that can affect your overall health. Maintaining oral health is not a choice, but a necessity for our overall well-being.”
Dental dos and don’ts
When leaving the dentist’s office determined to maintain better dental health, respondents said their good hygiene habits last only about eight days before they slip back into bad habits.
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Over half of the survey respondents confessed they don’t regularly floss, and nearly seven in 10 said they brush their teeth for less than two minutes per session.
“You may not need to use dental floss as frequently as toothpaste, but it should still be a part of your daily dental cleaning,” Dr. Arash Ravanbakhsh of Inglewood Family Dental in Alberta, Canada, said in an email to Fox News Digital.
Millennials and Gen Xers felt the least guilty about lying to their dentists compared to older Americans. (iStock)
“While dentists recommend brushing your teeth twice a day, this is not the only cleaning method you should be using daily. Mouthwash and flossing also play a huge role in keeping your oral hygiene in top condition,” Ravanbakhsh added.
One mistake patients make when cleaning at home is using too much pressure when brushing, according to the doctor.
“You may not need to use dental floss as frequently as toothpaste, but it should still be a part of your daily dental cleaning.”
“Just because you brush your teeth harder does not mean you are giving them a more thorough clean,” he wrote. “In fact, this could damage your teeth and gums.”
To safely and properly clean your teeth, Ravanbakhsh recommends using a manual brush with soft bristles or an electric toothbrush.
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An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
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Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
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The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
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The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
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This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
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“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
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While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
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Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
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Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
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The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
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After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
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These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
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However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
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A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
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The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
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