With the constant influence of social media in our lives, self-image has become a crucial and highly-integrated part of our lives. As our internet continues to become part of our day-to-day activities, so does our exposure to beauty standards. These beauty standards often include exposure to perfectly straightened, whiter teeth, especially among influencers and well-known peers. Because of this constant exposure, many people often feel unaccomplished and even have low self-esteem due to these beauty standards. One outcome of all of this is smile dysmorphia, a psychological condition that causes an immense source of anxiety over one’s appearance.
How Smile Dysmorphia Harms Your Mental Health
While smile dysmorphia isn’t an officially labeled condition, it’s a label that refers to the sense of inadequacy and warped perception of one’s smile. This condition typically arises from a negative self-image, especially from those who often feel inadequate about their appearance due to the constant exposure of beauty standards from social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. It often leads to an intense interest in being picky about one’s smile, creating a fixation of perceived flaws that leads them to attempt to improve their smile through dental treatments.
While cosmetic dental treatments can do wonders for a person’s smile, cosmetic dental treatments come with a balancing point. Smile dysmorphia can be a large source of worry and can contribute to numerous other health conditions such as body dysmorphia, eating disorders, and depression. Even while cosmetic treatments can correct those perceived flaws, smile dysmorphia often leaves the person feeling inadequate no matter how many treatments they receive.
In these cases, if you have some form of body dysmorphia, the best recommendation for you is to seek out professional help from a therapist, psychiatrist, or psychologist for treatment, as your mental health matters.
What Cosmetic Dentists Can Treat For Your Teeth
However, if you have a relatively healthy relationship with your smile but still feel that your smile could use some improvements, then there are many cosmetic dentists that can provide treatments to improve your overall smile. These treatments include:
- Teeth Whitening Treatments: Teeth whitening treatments are considered one of the least expensive and most popular forms of cosmetic dental treatment, as it only takes one session to whiten your teeth a few shades up from your natural tooth color.
- Gum Contouring: Gum contouring can remove signs of a gummy smile and reshape your gums to fit your smile and mouth structure.
- Enamel Contouring: Similarly, enamel contouring can remove small amounts of enamel and add composite resin to reshape your teeth completely.,
- Microabrasion: Microabrasion works to remove small amounts of enamel to prepare your teeth for restorative treatments such as porcelain veneers, crowns, and even dentures.
Make sure that if you are considering cosmetic treatment, you contact a cosmetic dentist you can trust – always make sure to care for your dental health first above all else when it comes to your self-image because no matter what, your smile should be healthy and clean.
