Posted at Mar 26/2006 02:33PM:
Sebastian De Vivo: Kareem, you zeroed in on the aspect of white teeth that you wanted to explore immediately: how does the relationship between white teeth and beauty ideals play out? And of course, what is the role of the media in crafting an ideal that speaks not just about health, but class, wealth, beauty, etc.? You brought up some fascinating points about this, which your interviews really illustrated well. I also enjoyed your foray into other practices of tooth-blackening. My one concern was that you seemed to make sweeping generalizations at times, although they were very recognizable from our own American perspective. In this regard, I liked how you spoke about your own experiences in opposition to these ideals. Your use of images greatly served your argument, and your navigation was clear and well-planned. You used historical examples to illustrate your points very well. This is a very well-researched, very interesting project -- great job!
We clean our teeth, but for what?
It started off as a health issue. At a certain point in our history, we recognized the importance of cleaning our teeth regularly, as a means of preventing the pain associated with gum and tooth infections. We realized that having unclean teeth led to pain, in some form or another. Over centuries, the mechanism of cleaning our teeth for health eventually produced the stereotype that white teeth meant clean teeth, and that yellow teeth meant dirty teeth.
The whiteness of our teeth set up for display countless features of our character, our status and our ability to engage in social activities. Foremost, our attractiveness to some extent relies on how 'white' our teeth are. How white our teeth are also tends to frame how we are perceived in terms of our willingness and ability to maintain and beautify ourselves.
This study will discuss the history of teeth-cleaning, and the artifacts we use for this process.
Introduction to White Teeth
- The Concept of White Teeth
- Why White?
- Courtship
- Say Something About Teeth
Dental Care
- Tooth Coloration and Discoloration
- Mohammed's Toothbrush
- Toothpaste and... Sex Appeal
- The Toothbrush
- Cosmetic Dentistry
- Whitening Processes
- False Teeth
White Teeth in the Media
- Be Good-Looking and Successful, Like Me
- White Teeth = Good, Yellow Teeth = Bad
- Teeth on Screen, Teeth on People
- British Teeth...
- Gold-Capped Teeth and Grills
Teeth as Ornaments
- Black Smiles
- Tooth-Filing
- Tooth Jewels
Teeth & Me: A Tale of...
- A Conclusion
- Works Cited & References
Posted at Feb 21/2006 01:05PM:
Robert Crook: I definitely like this idea more than focusing squarely on the toothbrush. This just encompasses so much more.
Posted at Feb 26/2006 05:00PM:
Daniel Steinbock: Though, in keeping with the intention of the class project, it is appropriate to start with your very own toothbrush as the artifact and then unpack the whole "white teeth" system of ideas directly out of it.
Posted at Feb 27/2006 11:09PM:
[Abayomi Fashoro]: I think it would be interesting to discover the cuases of yellow teeth and what it means from a health perspective.
Posted at Mar 01/2006 06:41PM:
Jennifer Ladd: As far as white teeth in the media, Regis might very well be the epitome of white teeth...his are almost scary, perfect and white...ever watch "Who Wants to be a Millionaire"?
Posted at Mar 01/2006 08:41PM:
chris witmore: It might be worthwhile to take a look at the aesthetics of the smile in the field of denistry. Maybe even check out guides such as
The Perfect Smile: The Complete Guide to Cosmetic Dentistry for what they regard as the ideal. Also have you found any references in terms of the history of mouth hygiene?
Posted at Mar 02/2006 10:45PM:
Alice Kim: Here's an interesting 180 degree turn from the idea that white teeth = beautiful:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohaguro
I've heard that this practice originated in order to hide existing tooth decay, but it became thought of as beautiful in and of itself (becase it was adopted by nobles) and also had the nice side-effect of preventing some tooth decay.
Posted at Mar 07/2006 11:47PM:
[Justin Carl]: I believe at some point in history in some parts of asia it was fashionable for people to die their teeth black. This might be an iteresting bit of history to look into for your project. Also, I know that do-it-yourself whitening kits have become extremely popular recently (i.e. Crest White Strips). This may be interesting to look into. One last thought, I know in other countries dental hygiene just isn't as popular and white teeth are much more rare. Why is the US so focused on this?
