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.

  • IMALlama@lemmy.world
    7·
    4 months ago

    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.