I don't think they do. I have never seen someone with sparkly teeth for real life. You just see that on TV. Maybe to advertise a teeth brush/paste product. I agree that North Americans have cleaner teeth than Africans. Africans can't afford the tooth brush/paste they need. Most North Americans can afford them. That's why we should help Africans and other countries with poverty.

The water in North America is flouridated almost everywhere, and dental care is very good. The dental industry has been so successful at promoting tooth care that they've endangered their own businesses: when I was a kid, dentists did quite well, now many of them struggle financially. There's also a lot of social pressure to have clean and straight teeth. Lots of people wear braces as children, anyone with bad teeth will hear about it eventually from others, etc.

becasue they brush their teeth, duh.

I agree with the fluoridated water reasoning. My dentist (whose wife is also a dentist) said that he grew up drinking heavily-fluoridated city water in Baltimore, MD. His wife, however, grew up in rural Pennsylvania and drank well-water, which usually contains no fluoride. My dentist has zero cavities at the age of 35, while his wife has nine. It should be said, though, that although fluoride can do wonders for your teeth, it has been known to have adverse effects on digestive health. Incidentally, I grew up drinking fluoridated water and have the teeth of a movie star, however, my digestive health is, and always has been awful. I don't know if they do this in other countries, but in the US, I received a full-mouth fluoride treatment nearly every visit it seemed, and it always left my teeth sparkly white. My mother found out that ingesting fluoride (or perhaps just fluoride in the bloodstream) can lead to intestinal problems and she made me refuse the treatments as a teenager. I, like many Americans, also whiten my teeth occasionally - a huge business in the US - and this, to answer the original question, may also be a good reason for our plethora of Hollywood smiles.

Knowing what I do, I can't let all this "It must be the fluoride" nonsense stand uncontested. Granted, small, topical applications of fluoride to the teeth have been shown to strengthen and whiten enamel, (It has not, however, been shown to have any effect whatsoever on actual incidence of tooth decay. Rates of tooth decay in Western countries have been declining at similar rates, regardless of whether they fluoridate their water or not). And *Ingestion* of fluoride, which is the usual route of exposure in areas of North America with fluoridated drinking water, has been associated with (Among other things): -Reduced cognitive ability in children. -Hypothyroidism (An under-active thyroid). -Sperm damage and reduced fertility (Although human research on this is limited). -Skeletal Fluorosis (A bone disease with symptoms similar to osteoarthritis). -Mutagenic Damage. And perhaps most ironically: -Dental Flurosis (A condition characterised by increased porosity of the enamel, extensive pitting, fracturing, and decay of the teeth, and enamel discolouration. http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/index.html I do agree that fluoride use probably is at least part of the reason why so many North Americans have whiter, *Seemingly* healthier teeth. But whiteness of the enamel is little but a superficial matter, and does not necessarily equal good dental health. But it's a commonly known fact that outward appearances are of the utmost importance in much of Western society, so as disturbing as it is, many people don't seem to care about whatever long term and/or invisible effects fluoridation may have, just as long as it makes them look better now.

I'm an American and I have WHITE teeth...Americans get their teeth whitened at least once a year...white teeth are important to us, of course this applies to middle class, upper middle class and upper classes...most working class people have dingy gross teeth. Whenever my cousins come to US from England they always comment on how white my teeth are...the Brits have really gross, crooked and dingy teeth...very few of them have nice white teeth, I guess it's just not that important to them. My brother was born in the UK and we vacationed there every year, so I know what I'm talking about. Everyone I come in contact with has white teeth...including my friends, family, friends of friends, professor's, doctors, dentists (obviously) etc....

not all of us, i dont