The Chicago Dental Society recently polled more than 300 dentists about issues such as their own dental habits, adults seeking braces, and how the presidential candidates’ smiles rate.
Of Democratic presidential candidates, US Senators Barack Obama and John Edwards (now out of the race) were neck and neck for votes for "best smile" from dentists, with 38% and 36% of the vote, respectively.
Although Republican Mitt Romney is now out of the race, his smile won by a landslide. Dentists gave more than 45% of their votes to the former governor’s toothy grin. Republican presidential hopeful John McCain garnered only 6% of the vote.
In other survey results, more than 85% of dentists surveyed are finding more adult patients considering braces or orthodontic treatment, particularly women.
Finally, according to a majority of dentists surveyed, childbirth is harder than pulling teeth, debunking the idiom used to describe extremely difficult tasks. "Raising teenagers" came in a close second.
