The cultural norm for smile aesthetics in America revolves around the whitest and brightest teeth possible. This may be because we revere youth and vitality, and our teeth are whitest when we’re young. We are also inundated with artificially white smiles through media images, and accept that this is what is attractive. Is it the same in other cultures? Not all of them. Schaumburg cosmetic dentist, Dr. Brent Engelberg, will speak about historical Asian traditions for women to blacken their teeth that still exist to this day.
Teeth Blackening in Japanese History
It is thought to have first started many years ago in Japan. For women to blacken the teeth meant a higher degree of sex appeal. Furthermore, those who blackened teeth as a practice had a higher likelihood of keeping their (more…)