I’m trying to get perspective on this particular beauty standard and how I want to approach it. Do people whiten their teeth where you live? Is it seen as expected to do so? Do you live in a city?
I have healthy teeth that have nevertheless seen a lot of tea and coffee. I have generally thought of this as similar to wrinkles, i.e. a natural thing bodies do that I don’t want to pay money to fix since it isn’t broken. I still think this. But I have been feeling lately like there might be more actual social stigma to my teeth being discolored. I am wondering if this is at all real? Has whitening teeth become an expected thing for all adults to do now? I thought I’d ask how other people feel and think about this and what the general norm is in your social circle.
Edit: thanks for the responses everybody.
I can’t answer for your societal questions since I don’t really care about them. But I do it from time to time only for my self esteem.
I smoked for years and became self conscious about my teeth becoming yellow-ish. So I don’t smoke anymore and do a whitening maybe once a year at max.
It’s a bit like sport, I feel better in my body so I am more happy, social and smile/laugh more.
May be natural, but so is body odor and we shower and use deodorants.
Yellow teeth don’t look good, it’s just that simple, and whitening isn’t expensive for most people - just go buy a box of a generic whitening kit from a drugstore. If it works for you, you win the whitening lottery.
Read the directions, the warnings, follow them.
I can’t use most of them, as they hurt my teeth (I’m sensitive to the ingredients).
No, you’re objectively wrong on this. It is more akin to cosmetic surgery because it is harmful for your teeth and potentially dangerous. This isn’t a normal hygiene standard.
My dentist disagrees. He recommends moderation, but says it is not harmful, much less dangerous.
I do it myself, about once a year, and I don’t have any issues at all.
My dentist said I could do it more often if I felt I needed to, 3-4 times a year, and my enamel would be fine, as long as I followed the directions.
I tried googling it and found no source that corroborated your statement. (I did find a Mayo Clinic and NYTimes article that both support my dentist’s claim.)
I’m willing to listen if you can provide an article, but your “objectively wrong” comment seems a little, well, objectively wrong.
No one that I know has whitened their teeth. The thought has never even crossed my mind. I am a heavy coffee drinker and brush 1x day with a sonic care toothbrush. I guess I do use whitening toothpaste, but that’s because it’s unbiquitious.
People have a lot of variation in what “looking good” means to them. I would argue that being well groomed is fairly universal, but even that’s not the case for everyone. Some people think presenting well is all about the brands you wear. Others think it’s about the type of clothes. Others think it’s about how well put together your outfit is.
To me, I value well fitting clothes over “fancy” clothes. It’s nice if the two go hand in hand, but I have a hard time looking past poorly fitting “nice” clothing. That said, even fit is subjective unless you’re talking about neck fit in a button down T-shirt.
This is all a long way of saying do what works for you. If that’s whitening your teeth, cool. If that’s not whitening your teeth, also cool. Be clean, be halfway well groomed, and be comfortable in your appearance. Do this and people will generally be comfortable about you. Yes, some may judge you about something that’s out of your norms, but you truly won’t be able to please everyone.
You brush… Once a day???
I brush and floss once a day and have had nothing but perfect checkups at the dentist.
I see it on TV commercials all the time and it looks freaky to me. I’d stay away.
It’s fairly common where I live, but dentists recommend against it because it weakens tour enamel.
I’ve never done it. Reasonably healthy teeth can be quite stained before they become noticeable to a random stranger while you’re talking of whatever.
A lot of people do it, but I would lump it in with getting a facelift. You definitely don’t need to do it and it doesn’t make you healthier.
It’s absolutely not necessary, and not expected, imo. If it’s on your mind and bothering you, maybe ask a dentist about options?
We buy the whitening strips but don’t do professional whitening. I think that’s fairly common here. I live in Dallas, TX.
If I see someone with whitened teeth I immediately get the impression that they’re dealing with their insecurities in an unhealthy way by projecting them onto their own body.
I get this even more with people who’ve undergone cosmetic surgery.
I find it hard to take people like that seriously
