Solihull in the West Midlands has emerged as the town most concerned with dental health, scoring 252 from a possible 400, followed by Brentford, Redditch, and Samlesbury.
The research focused on the number of searches related to specific dental treatments in the UK, including Invisalign, teeth whitening, veneers, and braces. Solihull topped the list with a score of 252 out of 400, indicating a high level of interest in oral hygiene and dental work within the town.
Interestingly, the number of dental practices in a town does not seem to directly correlate with the level of concern for dental health. For example, a quick online search will tell you that Solihull has around 58 dental practices in the vicinity, serving a population of around 216,000, while Brentford, which ranked second in the study, has only around 10 practices for a population of approximately 27,900. This suggests that the level of concern for dental health is not solely determined by the availability of dental practices in an area.
However, what does correlate is the amount of household income and the searches for dental procedures. Solihull is one of the most affluent districts in the greater Birmingham area, with an average income of £24,146 per annum, around 1.14x the national average. The surrounding areas of Birmingham, Coventry, Walsall, Dudley, Sandwell and Wolverhampton all come in significantly lower, around 14-16k p/a, roughly around 0.75x the national average. Solihull has the most dentists on this list and the most searches for dental procedures. By comparison, Samlesbury, which scored last on the index, has an average income of £19,786, 0.94x times the national average, with 21 dental practices in the surrounding areas.
There has been a significant rise in recent years of individuals engaging in cosmetic dental procedures. In the UK, there are around 77,000 searches per month for Invisalign on Google alone, whilst the term 'teeth whitening' generates around 73,000 p/m.
A spokesperson for Bandon Dental said, “Dental health is critical, and we are all aware of the risks of ignoring our teeth. People are becoming more proactive about not only the appearance of their teeth, but also their entire oral health, as evidenced by our most recent research.”