Although the majority of Americans care about their oral health, only 3% associate it with their overall well-being, according to a new study from P&G and the American Academy of Family Physicians.
The two organizations surveyed more than 2,000 adults from April 3 to April 14 on their beliefs about oral health and their oral care habits.
Six notes from the study:
1. Seventy-six percent of Americans are motivated to take care of their oral health.
2. Three percent of Americans associate oral health with whole-body health.
3. Forty-four percent of survey respondents said they had never heard of the connection between oral health and cardiovascular disease. Awareness levels dropped even further for other conditions and health complications, including diabetes, respiratory disease, pregnancy complications and Alzheimer’s.
4. Twelve percent of respondents ranked oral health among their top three health behaviors, compared to 59% and 52% of Americans who ranked exercise and healthy eating among their top health behaviors, respectively.
5. Some of the biggest disruptors to oral care routines were listed as tiredness, illness, routine changes, being busy and stress.
6. Only 10% of people track their oral health symptoms.
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