世論 What Japan Thinks

Back to one of my favourite subjects, Japanese teeth! This time, it was MyVoice who conducted the survey of 13,741 members of their internet monitor panel. The survey was conducted at the start of June this year, with 46% of the respondents male, 3% in their teens, 22% in their twenties, 39% in their thirties, 24% in their forties, and 12% in their fifties or older.

I’m just finished my regular dental check, although this time due to various reasons it was about seven months since the last one, so I needed one filling replaced due to some decay beneath it. All in all, including ultrasonic cleaning, the bill came to just over 3,000 yen with bog-standard Japanese national medical insurance.

Q1: About how often do you go for regular dental check-ups? (Sample size=13,741)

Once every three months	4.5%
Once every six months	9.0%
Once a year	14.8%
Used to go regularly, but not gone recently	18.2%
Never gone for a regular check-up	53.6%

Q2: What aspects of oral health are you currently concerned about? (Sample size=13,741, mutliple answer)

Plaque and tarter	44.8%
Teeth stains or colour	34.4%
Peridontitis or other gum diseases	32.7%
Squint teeth	32.6%
Bad breath	31.8%
Decay	26.7%
Sensitive teeth	23.5%
Tobacco stains	16.1%
Wisdom teeth	15.5%
False teeth, implants, crowns, etc problems	7.0%
Other	5.4%
Not worried about anything	7.2%
No answer	0.04%

I believe this question refers to perceived problems in the respondent’s own mouth.

Q3: From the answers in Q2, what are you most worried about? (Sample size=those worried about oral health)

Decay	15.0%
Squint teeth	14.8%
Peridontitis or other gum diseases	14.0%
Plaque and tarter	12.8%
Teeth stains or colour	12.3%
Bad breath	9.6%
Sensitive teeth	7.3%
Tobacco stains	4.2%
False teeth, implants, crowns, etc problems	3.3%
Wisdom teeth pain	2.7%
Other	3.5%
No answer	0.5%

Q4: For your biggest worry in Q3, what measures are you taking to resolve it? (Sample size=those worried about oral health, multiple answer)

Use a toothpaste that addresses the problem	17.8%
Visit a dentist	16.9%
Use foodstuffs containing Xylitol	11.7%
Use an electric, sonic, ultrasonic, etc toothbrush	8.4%
Use a mouthwash that addresses the problem	8.2%
Use a toothbrush that addresses the problem	7.8%
Use a home whitener	1.5%
Use a false tooth cleaning or disinfecting agent	0.7%
Visit an oral hygenist	0.3%
Use a tooth manicure	0.2%
Other	5.1%
Nothing	45.8%
No answer	0.4%

I don’t really know what a tooth manicure (donticure?) is at all!

Q5: What do you use when brushing your teeth? (Sample size=13,741, multiple answer)

Non-electric toothbrush	83.2%
Toothpaste	51.3%
Dental floss	22.9%
Mouthwash	21.2%
Inter-dental brush	18.1%
Electric, sonic, ultrasonic, etc toothbrush	17.5%
Liquid-style toothpaste	5.6%
Tongue scraper, tongue cleaning gel	3.1%
Other	1.3%
Nothing	1.4%
No answer	0.3%

You’ll notice that at most only 57% of people use any form of toothpaste!

Q6: When selecting a toothbrush or inter-dental brush, what points are important? (Sample size=those who use brushes, mutliple answer)

Smallness of head	43.5%
Cheap price or good cost-performance	28.2%
Bristle stiffness	25.8%
Bristle softness	24.0%
Brush shape, fit to hand	22.0%
Bristle shape	21.8%
Brand or maker I always use	14.4%
Colour or design	10.0%
Recommended by dentist or on sale at clinic	7.0%
Durable	6.4%
Well-known brand or maker	5.8%
Easy to clean or care for	4.1%
Largeness of head	2.6%
None of the above	4.6%
No answer	0.2%

Q7: When selecting a toothpaste or liquid, or mouthwash, what points are important? (Sample size=those who use pastes, liquids or mouthwash, mutliple answer)

Highly effective at preventing decay	41.6%
Highly effective at preventing bad breath	37.1%
Highly effective at preventing plaque	36.1%
Highly effective at killing peridontitis bacteria	31.1%
Highly effective at whitening teeth	27.5%
Taste or smell	25.5%
Cheap price or good cost-performance	21.9%
Brand or maker I always use	17.6%
Package shape	8.0%
Large size available	7.8%
Well-known brand or maker	7.6%
Recommended by dentist or on sale at clinic	3.0%
Package colour or design	2.7%
Compact size available	1.8%
None of the above	5.8%
No answer	0.3%

Q8: When you hear “teeth”, what famous person comes to mind? (Sample size=13,741, free answer)

Rank	日本語	English	Profession	Votes
1	東幹久	Mikihisa Azuma	Actor	1,829
2	新庄剛志	Tsuyoshi Shinjo	Baseball player (retiring)	1,719
3	明石家さんま	Sanma Akashiya	Comedian	1,275
4	高岡早紀	Saki Takaoka	Actress	288
5	久本雅美	Masami Hisamoto	Comedienne	218
6	坂口憲二	Kenji Sakaguchi	Actor	151
7	福山雅治	Masaharu Fukuyama	Singer/DJ/Actor/Producer/Photographer	129
8	ペ・ヨンジュン	Bae Yon-jun	Actor	120
9	織田裕二	Yuji Oda	Actor/Singer	100
10	松崎しげる	Shigeru Matsuzaki	Actor/Singer	96