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A new survey has shown that British people are more likely to hide their teeth than smile open-mouthed when posing for photos.

Only 29% said they’d pose for a picture with an open smile and 33% said that fears over discoloured teeth were the main cause.

Dr Nigel Carter OBE, CEO of the Oral Health Foundation, said, “‘Most of us have a camera in our pocket everywhere we go now and with the quality of phone cameras constantly increasing, more and more of us are worried about our appearance, especially, it seems, the state of our teeth.”

Discoloured and crooked teeth are two of the biggest reasons identified for the lack of toothy smiles, but thankfully addressing these and taking care of our oral health is quite simple.

“While most of us do choose to smile for a photo (75%), many are opting not to show our teeth.

“Interestingly, the research has also revealed that women are far more likely to smile for a photo than men; with more than 80% going for a grin compared to 68% of men.”

Despite these concerns over showing teeth when smiling, the poll also revealed that over half of UK adults (55%) only brush their teeth once a day rather than the recommended minimum of once in the morning and once at night…

“A smile is an incredibly powerful tool and is worth remembering it is one we all possess; a simple smile can make others around you feel at ease, it’s highly contagious and plays such an important role in our lives that we should make our oral health top priority, it saddens us that not everyone has the confidence to show theirs off to its full potential,” Dr. Carter continued

“National Smile Month is a great opportunity for us to take a moment and think about our oral health and discover what we can do to improve it.”

The figures were released as part of the annual National Smile Month campaign by the Oral Health Foundation.

Find out more: National Smile Month