Poll Shows Dental Hygiene Highly Correlated With Americans’ Well-Being

The Washington Post (2/23, Chokshi) reports the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which “ranks 190 metropolitan areas by the well-being of their residents based on a survey of more than a quarter-million Americans,” was released Tuesday and found the most satisfied Americans “share at least one unintuitive characteristic: good dental hygiene.” The Post says “places where people have good dental health also tend to be places where they report being generally fulfilled.” The article goes on to list cities and states that rank highly in terms of well-being. At the top of the list for cities are Naples, FL, Salinas, CA, and Sarasota, FL. Florida, California, Colorado, and Texas were “home to many of the communities with the highest well-being scores.” Dan Witters, research director for the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, said dental care habits are a “surrogate” for well-being, adding, “People who take good care of their teeth generally think they have higher well-being lives.”