USA.

也代表著美國人

In fact, Americans spend more than $111bn on their smiles every year

事實上，美國人每年花費超過一千億整治微笑

and it's inspiring the rest of the world to dig deep into their pockets too.

這也讓世界上其他人也想掏錢做一樣的事

Here's how America got such pretty teeth.

以下是美國人擁有漂亮牙齒的原因

The sound of the dentist's drill is enough to keep plenty away but the global industry

牙醫電鑽的聲音常讓許多人退避三舍，但全球

for cosmetic dentistry is growing fast.

牙齒美容產業正快速發展

Straightening and reshaping are increasingly popular and whitening products are now easily

矯正與重新塑型逐漸受到歡迎，美白產品

available off the shelf.

也很容易買得到

Worth nearly $16bn in 2015, the cosmetic dentistry market is expected to hit nearly $28bn by

2015 年市值 160 億的牙醫美容市場預計在 2024 年

2024.

達到 280 億

And while cosmetic dentistry is big all around the world, it's most famous in America,

牙醫美容在全球廣受歡迎，又以美國最為出名

where it all began.

是一切的起源之地

Specifically, Hollywood.

特別是在好萊塢

Or, Hollywoodland as it was known back then.

或是以前常知的好萊塢莊園

In the 1930s American cinema was booming. After the silent era when sound was introduced

1930 年代，在有聲電影誕生後，美國電影產業興起

which meant stars suddenly had to bare their teeth.

這也代表影星要開始注重牙齒外觀

This would have a dramatic effect on the industry and an even bigger impact on dentistry.

這對電影產業有了戲劇性的作用，更大大影響牙醫界

One moviegoer was a dentist and his name was Charles Pincus.

有位愛看電影的牙醫，叫做 Charles Pincus

Pincus had recently moved to Hollywood and he sensed an opportunity in the movies.

他搬到好萊塢後，看見了電影中的商機

"The camera is cruel in its relentless exposure of the smallest flaw in the mouth.

相機殘酷的點在於，它不間斷地暴露了牙齒裡的小缺點

A tooth turned even slightly out of line casts a shadow", wrote Pincus in an essay to fellow

「一顆稍微突出的牙都能造成陰影」這是 Pincus 在寫給

dentists.

同業的論文中提到

Pincus had connections in the industry - the Max Factor family, who were already revolutionizing

Pincus 和電影圈有些關係連接，也就是 Max Factor 家族，他們改革了電影的化妝方式，這時

makeup for the movies - needed his help in the studio.

他們需要 Pincus 的協助

For actors of that generation makeup wasn't always enough.

靠化妝對當年的演員不一定是夠的

The notion of oral hygiene was barely in its infancy.

口腔衛生的概念當時還未發展齊全

Pincus invented snap on caps to cover crooked or missing teeth.

他發明固定的牙片以遮住歪牙或缺牙

Made out of powdered plastic and porcelain they became known as hollywood veneers.

用粉狀塑膠和陶瓷製成，也就是有名的「瓷牙貼片」

Among his patients he counted Joan Crawford and James Dean.

在他眾多病患中，他特別指出有 Joan Crawford 和 James Dean

One of his greatest achievements though was probably the youngest of them all.

但他的最佳代表作應該是裡面最年輕的

"She's been a leading lady from the start"

「她從小就是主角」

Despite featuring in hits since she was just six years old, audiences would never see

Shirley Temple 從六歲就開始在電影中演出

Shirley Temple lose a single baby tooth.

觀眾卻沒看過她掉過一顆乳牙

That was thanks to Pincus's veneers.

這都要感謝 Pincus 的瓷牙貼片

Afterall, stopping filming for a missing tooth would cost tens of thousands of dollars.

畢竟，為了一兩顆缺牙而停止拍攝，可能會損失慘重

Moviegoers were wowed by the perfect smiles of their favorite stars.

電影觀眾會為喜愛影星的完美笑容所傾倒

Having good teeth became an aspiration.

擁有一口好牙成了一種目標

But despite that developing into a near national obsession with perfect teeth, Americans don't

儘管對完美牙齒的追求已經成為一種國民運動，美國人的牙齒

actually have the healthiest teeth.

其實並不是最健康的

Nearly 1 in 5, older than 65, doesn't have any teeth at all. And that might be because

超過 65 歲，每五個人就有一個人沒有任何牙齒。這有可能與

of access to healthcare.

健保資源的取得有關

Of those who didn't visit the dentist last year 59% claimed cost as the top reason.

59 % 去年沒有看牙醫的人說，費用是主要的考量

When countries are ranked by how few fillings or missing teeth they have - the US doesn't

就牙齒填充物、缺牙排名，美國並沒有

make the top ten.

在名單的前十名

In joint first it's actually the British, despite what everyone thinks.

綜合排名的第一名其實是英國，雖然大家可能沒想到

"Since you've been frozen, there have

既然你被冷落了

been fabulous advances in the field of dentistry - What do you mean?"

你知道牙醫界有很棒的進展嗎？－ 你說什麼？

While Americans might not have the very healthiest of teeth, having the best looking might be

雖然美國人沒有最健康的牙齒，但是擁有最好看的外觀

just as important. Americans spend more each year on beauty than

一樣重要，美國人每年花在美容的消費比

they do on education.

花在教育的還要高

But it's not pure vanity, it's an investment.

但這非純粹虛榮，這是一種投資

Attractive people tend to earn more, appear more healthy and are more likely to marry.

有吸引力的人通常賺更多，吸引更多健康的人，也比較有可能論及婚嫁

Making teeth good for our health in a different way.

牙齒用不同方式增加身體的健康