A twenty-one-year-old British man named Jay went on a British reality show called “Embarrassing Bodies.” It seems like a really self-deprecating show to go on, but he did in January. The reason: he hadn’t brushed his teeth for over twenty years. He just never did it! Of course, like all children, he blamed his parents, saying they didn’t encourage him to take care of his teeth, so he never did.

One can only imagine what his parents' teeth looked like and if they were able to watch him on the show and see what they had done to his oral hygiene, although he probably should shoulder some of the blame himself.

He was embarrassed by his teeth, but didn’t want to go to the dentist due to anxiety about it -- probably because he had a million cavities. Ultimately, he choose to get help due to bad breath.

What happened on the show

Jay had to promise the dentist he would change the way he did things. He wanted him to brush his teeth, and lay off the sweets to start with. His decayed teeth before and after pictures were shown on many news outlets. Everyone was quite shocked he hadn’t brushed for twenty years. He ended up having to have eleven teeth removed. Surprisingly, his gums and bones weren’t affected by his poor hygiene. The eleven teeth were replaced with implants and now Jay’s smile looks entirely different.

What poor mouth health can do

If you aren’t taking care of your teeth you can have a whole host of problems. Your teeth can stain from the things you drink and eat and start to turn yellow if you aren’t taking care of them. You can suffer from gum disease and have painful bleeding gums plague you all the time. The worst thing of course is heart disease because the toxins that build up in your mouth can enter your blood stream.

This can cause a heart attack because the bacteria travels through your arteries, causing a blockage. You also run the risk of losing your teeth when you don’t keep them clean. You can get periodontitis and your gums will recede from your teeth, causing them to fall out. It goes without saying that you have to take care of your teeth, but apparently this guy just decided to ignore all the facts and let them rot.

Luckily for him he was able to go on a reality show and get a new smile and a healthy dose of self-confidence.

How often do you brush your teeth? Have you ever gone a day or a few days without running a brush across your chompers? Could you imagine not brushing for 20 Years? More importantly, are you surprised it didn't do more damage to his mouth?
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