Courtesy of the ADA:

ABC News (11/24, Boudreau) reported on its website and carried video from a Good Morning America “Morning Stir” segment reporting on “Bleachorexia,” a new term some dentists are using for people who obsessively over-whiten their teeth. The segment drew heavily on the experience of five-time World Boxing Council champion Mia St. John, whose dentist Laurence Rifkin “said overbleaching is common and can lead to receding gums and oversensitivity.” During the Good Morning America segment, George Stephanopoulos also interviewed Dr. Jen Ashton, who advised visiting a dentist before beginning any tooth whitening regimen. Good Morning America concluded the segment by reading a statement from the American Dental Association, which said, “Patients should be cautioned that not enough information is available to support unsupervised long-term and/or repeated use of bleaching products.”

Picking up on the Good Morning America segment, the Daily Mail (UK) (11/25) also reports on the issue of over-whitening. The Daily Mail report cites an American Dental Association survey that found that 96 percent of adults believe “a good smile can make a person more attractive,” and 74 percent “consider a bad one to be a career disadvantage,” likely a root cause for those who do not practice moderation when whitening their teeth.

You can view the Daily Mail article by Clicking Here