NEW DELHI: Bollywood actor Madhuri Dixit has joined Oral B Smile India Movement as the chief smile officer to promote a mission to ‘Protect a Billion Indian Smiles, One at a time‘ with the help of 10,000 dentists across the country.

The mission was launched Tuesday from the Maulana Azad Medical College here, heralding the cause of protecting the Indian smile. The Oral B Smile Survey conducted by independent researcher AC Nielsen amongst 803 consumers and 201 dentists in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru states that as many as 89 per cent respondents in Delhi, 65 per cent in Bengaluru, 25 per cent in Kolkata and 19 per cent in Mumbai feel that India as a nation smiles less than other countries. A majority of 76 per cent of dentists notice that patients with poor oral hygiene tend to smile less.

Dixit said, "I have always believed that we Indians have such warm smiles - something I missed fervently when I was in the US. It was disheartening to learn from the Oral B Smile survey that Indians feel they are smiling less, and the poor state of oral hygiene could be one of the reasons. I decided to join hands with Oral B and 10,000 dentists across the country to protect billion Indian smiles, one at a time. As I pledge my support to the movement, I urge everyone to pledge their support too and take a step towards more healthy, confident smiles."

The survey covered people‘s behaviour at the workplace, with their spouses; people have been equally vocal regarding their connotations of smile at their work place and when trying to please their spouses.

Oral B spokesperson Varun Sharma said, "The survey conducted with AC Nielsen clearly points at the need for better oral hygiene among Indians! Through the Oral B- Smile India Movement this year, we hope to build from Smile India Movement‘s success last year, and help protect a billion Indian smiles, one at a time."

"We are encouraged by the support we have received from 10,000 dentists across India and now Chief Smile Officer- Madhuri Dixit who, for most of us, represents the quintessential healthy, confident smile. The aim is to protect Indian smiles by urging people across India to come forward and pledge their support to this movement," Sharma added.