Ask Lemmy

26707 readers

1543 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics.

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either [email protected] or [email protected]. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email [email protected]. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

Teeth Whitening? (lemm.ee)

submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

37 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I feel like this position devalues a lot of folk's actions navigating dysphoria. It just so happens you find teeth whitening shallow but ultimately it's someone trying to align their outward appearance to their mental self image.

It's not for us to judge the choices others make with their bodies, we can just hope they are healthy and happy.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

I don't think it's shallow. I think it may reflect a psychological process that reveals insecurity.
I do judge people on it initially, as I do according to all my prejudices. When I then get to know someone better, I adjust my views accordingly