Why is dental care non existent in HK?

[Espresso]

a lot of people have yellow and stinky teeth.

[Ruoyi]

I dont think they care...its rare to see them with braces....my friend is an international student from hk, her teeth are a bit yellow with a couple of crooked teeth, i asked her why she doesnt get braces, she said she doesnt care and that they are very expensive in hk...

Also i think a lot of them drink tea like dailyyyy

[racebannon]

Are you forgetting was colony of Great Britain for 156 years?

[Trwy2k]

Not just in HK, it is like in whole Asia! They just don't care about the appearance of their teeth. If I look at some of those teeth in people in Asia I just quiver because it looks so nasty and not well taken of!

[hadouken]

@1:44-1:45

[jechoi]

There are dental care in HK. Yes, it is expensive. Besides, they drink tea most of the time which kinda makes it yellowish.

[hem]

Must be awful when they open their mouths or when their kissing each other...

[tjsye2]

Then how do these HK dentists make a living? Is earning mostly come from ex-Pats, foreigners, and the super-rich? I thought HK has a lot of foreign trained dentists???

[nyckeion]

Its the smoking and the tea drinking. Especially in China

[lasalle]

The world recognized Chinese people as yellow skin.. must have teeth to match

[gemini]

actually, i have also been wondering the same thing each time i see any Asians with bad teeth...

[mikekiewing]

Well, it every body wondering the same thing, then it must be ture!!

[surplusletterbox]

As a wild guess one would not be encourage to pay a lot of money for a tooth job that causes nose problem ( a famous expression: mend mouth break nose). As to the yellowish look it is partly due to hereditary , partly due to life style (tea/coffee/smoke) and if the enamel is extremely well mineralized it will appear lighter or white in color. In my family we have similar lifestyle and brushing and the use the same toothpaste. However our teeth are either more white or pale yellow depending on whether the children following the father or mother line. Same for their skin tones. However, the enamel is often translucent, taking most of its light-gray/white or light yellow color from the bone-like substance underneath, known as dentin.The bone colour is of course ivory in colour. The whiteness perception is a marketing concept to sell toothpaste. By the way whiteness in toothpaste is caused by bleaching, I wouldn't have bleaching agents in one's mouth daily. You will find it hard to find another mammal having white teeth as opposed to yellowish teeth or tusks.

[gemini]

lol, i have been asking myself this question quite a while already! actually, my parents are originally from hong kong, but i was born in Europe. My brother and i, we both had braces, so we both have good teeth. but, i really cannot understand why some of my family and friends have so crooked teeth! i mean, they can spend so much money on their make-up, accessories (for girls) or games (for boys) but they cannot spend any dollar on their teeth? i never understood why they can buy so many expensive stuff instead of investing it to their teeth...

[Piggywings]

I agree on this! Hk is a rich country, why cant dental care be offered for the natives!? Mostly all the Hk people have ugly teeth, either yellow or black..god

[spech]

I think another reason is improper brushing/flossing (or lack thereof). I think Chinese (not sure about other Asians) like to brush their teeth when they wake up, BEFORE they have breakfast. While that is fine and all, the most important thing is to brush AFTER meals.