Smilorexia is a term Dr. Zuk coined for the book 'Confessions of a Former Cosmetic Dentist.' It is a fact that people often become obsessed with having a perfect smile and naturally these individuals soon find themselves in the office of a dentist who advertises cosmetic services. The author was mildly affected with the disorder himself and almost signed up for treatment he would have now regretted doing.
and that was just the beginning. It also is featured in wiki and has been featured in several sites like
urban dictionary, that enjoy odd words.
Sadly people actually suffer from a disorder that leaves them feeling inadequate and focused on relatively minor variations in their teeth. Typically they do become impulsive users of whitening products and are usually unhappy with the results of the procedure thinking that the teeth should end up evenly white from the edge of the tooth down to the gumline.
DENTISTS FREAK?
According to a review of the topic on the website
http://www.thewealthydentist.com/blog/1332/dental-marketing-smilorexia/, some dentists will be upset that the dental profession's reputation will be hurt by the public learning that some insider concerns about the cosmetic dental business (THE AUTHOR NOW AGREES AND HAS DECIDED TO TAKE THE BOOK OUT OF PUBLICATION). The consultant/blogger/lecturer wrote the following:
"...and the dentist raises some valid points. Some dentists certainly do take it too far when it comes to selling veneers and other cosmetic dentistry. But is Dr. Zuk unfairly painting the entire profession in a negative light?" -Jim Du Molin
Author's response: "Most dentists would hopefully agree that the public should know that cosmetic dentistry can be abusive when used too aggressively on an uninformed patient. Don't try to hide the facts." mz
More on 'Smilorexia' ...
They usually bring the dentist photographs of specific celebrity smiles that they have become fixated on and if their budget allows it they will be easy victims for cosmetic dentists who routinely provide extreme smile makeovers. My experience with these individuals is they usually are very difficult to please in the long term and while often initially thrilled with cosmetic enhancements, they usually find other things to complain about when they become accustomed to their new smile.
Their teeth are never white/straight/perfect enough, and the dentist can sometimes end up feeling like the real victim of a patient with 'Smilorexia'.
