Blancorexia: what is it, causes, symptoms and how to combat it

Everyone would like to have a beautiful smile, with well-aligned, healthy-looking, white, very white teeth. In our culture we associate the whiteness of our teeth with beauty and health, which is why most would like to have their teeth a lighter shade.

However, this desire can degenerate into an obsession with having white teeth so extreme that people who have it sufferers are capable of applying dangerous and expensive treatments in order to meet their expectations of what a smile pretty.

This phenomenon is called blancorexia, an obsession that has been on the rise in recent years as the media have been promoting the ideal that the whiter our smile, the better. Let's find out more about what it is.

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What is blancorexia?

Virtually everyone dreams of having a beautiful smile, with well-aligned, whole teeth, no cavities, and a bright white hue. The idea that an attractive person is one who, among other traits, has white teeth is part of the Western beauty canon.

, something that we can see promoted in the media if we look at how the most attractive celebrities look. It does not fail: they all have perfect white teeth.

Although many may be surprised, healthy teeth are not absolutely white, but ivory in color. It is possible to make our teeth present a lighter and more aesthetically attractive tone by means of some good oral hygiene habits in addition to resorting to professional treatments such as whitening dental. Going to a qualified dentist is possible to make our teeth whiter in a healthy and balanced way, although they will never be absolutely white.

Unfortunately, there are many people who have internalized the idea that you can have absolutely white teeth, as they see their famous celebrities look like. This trend of wanting whiter teeth has become dangerous, so much so that it has not only increased the number of requests to receive a professional teeth whitening treatment but also miraculous and pseudo-professional products are used that use dangerous methods to health. This obsession with white teeth has been called blancorexia.

People with Blancorexia have a distorted perception of the color of their teeth. There is a real problem of body dysmorphia that, coupled with very unrealistic expectations about the color that the teeth should have, makes the person Do not be convinced by the results of conventional treatments and resort to ones that assure you that you can have that pure white hue in your teeth.

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Causes of this obsession

Blancorexia is an obsession that draws heavily on the beauty canon promoted by the media, both male and female.

In most of the Western world, people with white teeth are perceived not only as health-conscious individuals, but also attractive and more trustworthy. As a counter-effect, people with yellowish dentures are perceived as unpleasant, less attractive, sick, and not trustworthy.

It's hard not to see attractive people whose teeth are blindingly white on TV or on social media. Most celebrities can see a white smile, made in a cosmetic dentist's office or resorting to photographic retouching to make it look brighter than it really is. Since many people want to look as attractive as celebrities, their desire to imitate them is also shown in an interest in showing off exaggeratedly white teeth.

The desire for white teeth has been taken advantage of by unscrupulous brands that promote and market miracle teeth whitening products. To this is added the lack of information about the dangers of applying non-medically tested products for teeth whitening and without professional supervision.

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What risks does blancorexia bring?

Most tooth whiteners, both legally marketed in pharmacies and more heterodox such as the Internet, contain substances such as hydrogen peroxide (hydrogen peroxide) and carbamide peroxide (hydrogen peroxide and urea) that are normally applied by means of splints. Although many products containing these substances are medically tested, their abuse and without professional supervision can result in unwanted effects..

Blancorexia brings the following medical problems:

• Tooth hypersensitivity
• Gum irritation
• Gingivitis
• Cracks in teeth
• Changes in taste perception
• Loss of tooth enamel
• Pulp necrosis
• Tooth loss

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What makes our teeth white?

As we mentioned, absolute white is not natural in our teeth, nor is it possible to reach it without risking our oral health. The vital moment in which our teeth have the highest degree of whiteness is during childhood, when we have baby teeth. These children's teeth contain less dentin, a naturally yellow substance. And it must be said that even being small our teeth are not completely white.

Our teeth are not white but ivory in color. The tone of our teeth has an inescapable genetic component, which determines how yellowish or whitish they are. The environmental factor should not be ignored, since the color of our teeth is also influenced by what we eat and hygiene habits and dental care: medicines, foods that stain teeth, smoking, drinking coffee or tea, brushing your teeth 3 times a day, using mouthwash oral…

It is possible to make our teeth whiter through a tooth whitening treatment under expert supervision. Through this type of intervention we can get our teeth to acquire a clearer and cleaner tone, in consonance with our skin tone and other aesthetic factors that people who suffer from white-rexia often go through high. In fact, having excessively white teeth can become an unattractive trait, seen as artificial by others.

In teeth whitening, the specialist has to increase the porosity of the teeth so that certain substances can penetrate inside. It also has to protect the gums, as some of the products used, such as carbamide and hydrogen peroxide, can be toxic at certain doses and damage them. The normal thing is to apply a teeth whitening treatment every five or six years.

In dental clinics, other techniques such as laser or cold light whitening are used in order to activate the substances that are applied to the teeth. In some cases, instead of applying teeth whitening products, the most recommended is to opt for the use of cosmetic veneers.

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Tips to avoid blancorexia

Dentists have a series of tips and recommendations to avoid becoming obsessed with having white teeth. While everyone wants their smile to look as white as possible, obsessing over applying treatments that prioritize aesthetics over health is always a great risk to the integrity of the teeth.

You must be realistic and understand that the extremely white teeth that we see in the media, in the smiles of actors, models and influencers, are not real. Most likely they have undergone very expensive whitening surgeries dental work or the way your smile looks has been touched up through touch up programs photographic.

It is advisable to follow and respect the time lapses between treatments. Although we can find tooth whiteners in pharmacies and applied by dentists qualified, you must be aware that medically tested products are not safe for health. The repeated application of whitening products in short periods of time can damage the teeth due to the aggressive nature of the substances of which they are composed.

In general, homemade solutions are not a good option. These can be dangerous and counterproductive. The most famous whitening solution to go at home is baking soda, but it must be said that it is an abrasive product and that it can damage enamel and gums. It is not worth applying something that instead of whitening our teeth what it could do is make us lose it. And very important: miracle products should be mistrusted, those that promise the impossible and the only thing that is certain in them is that they are not safe at all.

The most recommended is that If you want to enjoy a whiter smile, the essential thing is to go to a dentist specialized in oral aesthetics. Teeth whitening treatments offered by dentists are effective and safe as long as they are applied as directed. The dentist, first of all, will make sure that we do not have any dental health problems such as cavities, periodontitis or gingivitis, making sure medical conditions are treated first, followed by aesthetic.