Teeth dysmorphia worry in North East
It’s claimed North East's dental profession will struggle to cope if more teenagers become obsessed with whitening.
One of the UK’s top cosmetic dentists has warned that more young people obsessed with white teeth could have body dysmorphia.
The psychological condition, which sees sufferers fixated about certain aspects of their appearance, has grown over the past decade, particularly for teenagers.
Dr Ken Harris explains that more whitening products on the market hasn’t mixed well with growing use of editing apps for social media sites to alter your appearance. Now, many young people expect to have a brighter whiter smile.
They’ve turned to things like bleach and toilet cleaner to avoid costly dental treatments, which can severely damage your teeth.
Another more mainstream problem is excessive brushing with whitening toothpastes, some that are five times over a ‘safe’ abrasive paste, coming in at around 65 RDA (Relative Dentine Abrasivity).
Ken says he’s dealing with young people on a daily basis who’ve damaged their teeth in pursuit of a whiter smile.
He said:
“If the current trends are to be followed we’re in for a shock. It’s a tidal wave about to hit the dental profession, repairing this kind of damage… I would suggest there aren’t enough dentists in the world to deal with the problems that are just going to happen in the North East.”
“No amount of telling some young people is going to get the penny to drop. They need potentially specialist help and dentists aren’t trained to do that. All we can do is tell you what we see.”
“If you really want white teeth, have professional tooth whitening by a dentist. Don’t take it into your own hands, you’re playing with fire.”
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