Addictive Pursuit of Pearly Whites?

The most widely used of these over-the counter products are whitening strips and a tray-based technique, in which a plastic tray, containing a bleaching gel, fits over a person's teeth and is worn for part of the day.
Some experts are reluctant to call this mania an addiction. "No, it is not possible to become addicted to teeth-whitening agents," says Robert Gerlach, DDS. Gerlach is principal scientist for worldwide clinical investigations at Procter & Gamble, the maker of Crest Whitestrips.
Others acknowledge that people are often guilty of overusing over-the-counter teeth-whitening products. How does this fixation start and what are the consequences?

What Motivates Overuse

For some, it's a narcissistic compulsion to maintain their youth, analogous to going for repeated plastic surgery, says Richard Frances, MD, an addiction expert and a clinical professor of psychiatry at New York University Medical School. "People are obsessed with the idea of perfecting their bodies and warding off the effects of age," he says.
Matthew Messina, DDS, a dentist in private practice in Cleveland and a spokesman for the American Dental Association, says television makeover programs have had a tremendous influence in making people see how an investment in their smile was also an investment in self-confidence. But this awareness, he says, "can be obsessive if we become hyperfixated."
"People are looking for anything they can get their hands on that can improve every part of the way they look, every advantage possible to one-up the next person" says James H. Doundoulakis, DMD. Doundoulakis has a cosmetic dentistry practice in New York and is the co-author of The Perfect Smile: The Complete Guide to Cosmetic Dentistry.
"Because of New York's competitive nature," Doundoulakis says, "you need all the tools - and one of them is that smile, which not only shows you're confident but that you're healthy and you have energy."

The Warning Signs of Overuse

While Messina underscores that "tooth whitening is a very safe and effective technique when done according to the product manufacturer's instructions and under the recommendations of a dentist," some people are after more than that. The warning sign for Messina is when patients "look for changes in their teeth to correct other issues and problems that have nothing to do with their teeth," such as improving their social lives or getting a better job.
Messina says that even a little bit of overuse of an over-the-counter whitening agent "is not going to do any long-term damage. The reason, he says, is "the safety margins for over-the-counter products is pretty large."