No Surprises Here: Survey Says Dentists Support Tooth Whitening

Whiter Teeth Means Richer Dentists

In this poll, we asked dentists if today’s consumers are over-whitening their teeth. Not surprisingly, most dentists had nothing but good things to say about tooth whitening.

Four out of five dentists in our poll responded, “No; whether done at home or in the dental office, modern tooth-whitening technology is only improving people’s smiles.” The remaining 16% replied, “Yes; home bleaching kits and too-eager dental practitioners have left many people with ‘toilet bowl teeth.’”

It’s worth noting the role of geography: the more rural the dentist, the more likely he or she is to feel that over-whitening is a serious problem.

Here are some of our dentists’ comments:

Too Much of a Good Thing

• “I had one patient who became so addicted to bleaching that her teeth resembled bright white copy paper — and she still was not ready to quit!” (California dentist)
• “Too many people have the Regis Philbin look: teeth that are too big and too white that look too fake!” (Missouri prosthodontist)
• “Like everything in this world, too much of anything is not good for you. Too much whitening on the same set of teeth can cause problems, even darkening the same teeth we are trying to lighten.” (Florida dentist)

Can You Ever Have Too Much of a Good Thing?

• “If people want ‘toilet bowl teeth,’ so what? Too white? Isn’t that like being too rich?” (Georgia dentist)
• “Whitening is a patient’s choice. If it makes them feel better and causes no problems, why not?” (Pennsylvania dentist)
• “I still see 5-10 patients daily asking about bleaching who have never done any bleaching previously. In my practice, ‘Toilet Bowl Teeth’ are few and far between.” (North Carolina dentist)

Read the full results.