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.

  • sartalon@lemmy.world
    4·
    4 months ago

    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.