Oral healthcare expert Mary Otto explores the history of dentistry in the U.S., the impact of our teeth on our daily lives, and how poor communities are disadvantaged by the modern dental industry.

We use our teeth every day to eat and talk, but we often don't acknowledge their enduring importance in our lives.

The appearance of our teeth can influence our job prospects, relationships, and overall physical and mental health, while oral health issues can have deadly consequences if left untreated.

In Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America, Mary Otto, writer and oral health expert for the Association of Health Care Journalists, explores how our teeth impact our quality of life.

Social issues like poverty affect access to dental care, and Otto traces the history of dentistry in the U.S. to explain why this is.

By focusing on individual people and personal stories, Otto gives a human face to America's ongoing dental health crisis.