Have you noticed how many nasty looking mouths there are in taiwan? I just found out yesterday that a 21 year old taiwanese friend of mine has false teeth. I have kids in my class whose teeth are best described as rancid. Big brown stains, massive cavities on the fronts of the teeth, teeth chipping with alarming regularity, all seem to be normal. I see them brushing their teeth all the time, but it doesnt seem to be helping.
Does anyone have any explaination for this? Does the dentist prescribe rubbing sugar into their teeth before bedtime? It cant be right, for so many people to have such horrible teeth.
I think Im gonna get some toothpaste sent from the u.k., and only visit a dentist when absolutely necessary.
What do you think?
I noticed the same (one of my colleagues in particular) and find it disguisting; imagine you meet the xiaojie of your dreams, she smiles and … :shock:
Dunno for sure, but could it be that dental education is perhaps not common here? Like brushing your teeth regulary, changing the brush every 3 months (max) instead of waiting for the bristles to fall out and seeing a dentist twice a year?
Visited a few people and when you use the bathroom I sometimes can’t help to notice the poor hygenic conditions and state the tooth brushes are in …
I think having no flouride in the water may be part of it. I also have had more cavities in Taiwan than I had in 22 years of living in the States. Make sure when you go to the dentist (twice a year) to ask for flouride treatment. The National Health Insurance doesn’t cover it, but it’s only about NT$600 per treatment … definitely worth it.
Here they do not seem to give a damn about teeth… about 100% in the office has either bad teeth, unclean or crooked teeth… one is so bad that it looks like here teeth are inverted and growing in towards her gums… its lucky that she has not ate the head off herself already
Two percentage have great teeth… almost snow white and glaring… but they got to be false
A couple of people here are frequent brushes after luch in the toliet. Don’t know what toothbrush they use or toothpaste as there teeth are still stained and with one guy in particular riddled with holes… maybe they borrowed them from the dodgy pay by the hour hotel they were stay monthly with the little girlfriend
I for one hate bad looking teeth… I feel it is a reflection of how the person takes care of themselves and for girls… no matter how good looking or sexy she is… if the teeth are not white and nice… then she might as well be an elephant
one of my wife’s nieces ( my nieces I guess) gets spoilt by their grandmother and the grandmother does not make the effort to wash their “milk” teethe as they will all fall out anyway… she will for her permanent teeth though
Wife has perfect teeth though, mine are a little stained from the coffee and cigarettes… I have no intention of getting one of those smoker ( enamel stripping) toothpastes … to be honest as long as I do not have cavities or gum disease I am pretty happy…
May go for the laser whitening though… just to see how white they can get them
Certainly there is no excuse for bad oral hygiene, though I have more of a problem with the halitosis one encounters frequently here. However, all teeth are not “white”, nor should we demand they be.
Any dentist will tell you that healthy teeth come in natural shades from pearly white to discoloured. I don’t believe that people with healthy off-white teeth should be pressured into expensive teeth whitening that, for them at least, will be required several times a year.
By the way, why must only “she” have white teeth?
It isn’t that expensive to have your teeth whitened anymore. Overbites and underbites seem to be everywhere here. That and growths on ears. I suspect the cost of braces puts a lot of people off.
I have seen some scary teeth here. One time at CKS airport, the airline counter lady had two rows of front teeth, ala Alien (the creature from the sci-fi movie, not the forumosa poster). I’ve also seen a small tooth wedged between two front teeth. Yuck.
Teeth can be stained either permanently or superficially. Permanent stains usually result when a pregnant woman drinks water with high contents of fluoride. It is also often the result of a pregnant woman’s use of certain antibiotics, especially tetracycline. In these cases, her baby will have permanently stained teeth. Another reason for permanent stains is when a baby is given tetracycline.
I practice very good dental hygiene, yet my teeth are stained permanently from tetracycline given to me as an infant. It was common in the US 40 years ago when I entered this world.
Per my knowledge, many Chinese people have “tetracycline teeth”, and I suppose it is possible that this particular antibiotic was administered liberally in Taiwan too.
Good advice, but how do you ask for flouride in Chinese? I have a feeling that it’s phonetically translated, and sounds exactly like Florida.
One of the reasons for all this is that parents generally feel that “baby teeth” are of no consequence and, therefore, you see lots of kids with teeth literally rotting out of their heads. Not only is this bad for the foundation of the teeth where the adult teeth will come in, but also sets a very bad example for the kids.
I would beg to differ on the value of fluoride. I am not sure about its efficacy. But then I haven’t had a cavity in 45 years. 
dental hygiene seems lacking in Taiwan as much as China and sometimes even in HK depending on whom you’re talking to naturally.
my cousin from PRC unfortunately is unaware of floss, fluoride treatments, and brushing her tongue. even after 10+ years of living in the states. it’s a good thing she’s only an engineer. haha.
of course seeing someone’s teeth when it is blood-red with the juice of the betelnut scares the shit out of me everytime. hmm. i’m scared just imagining it.
Bad teeth don’t bother me so much, but then again, I worked in an office with Brits, so maybe I’m inured. 
North Americans have got the pearly white thing going on, that’s for sure - it’s one of the easiest ways to tell a huaqiao apart from the local population… 
Most of the kids I teach have one or two rotten teeth, some have no sound teeth. I would have thought it can’t do much for their self-esteem, but nobody seems to care.
I have noticed quite a big improvement in Taiwanese people’s teeth in recent years, so it does seem like they’re paying more attention to oral hygiene. I used to find it quite shocking that attractive, neat, well-groomed and otherwise clean-looking girls often had teeth that apparently hadn’t ever been brushed, but I don’t come across that nearly so often these days. I always assumed that the kids were too busy studying and doing homework to have time for taking care of their teeth.