It is estimated that 1.94 trillion photographs were taken in 2024, 78 billion of which were selfies.[i] 14 billion images are shared online every day for multiple purposes,[ii] but people often share pictures of themselves online to widen their social and professional networks, to personalise content, and to help build a personal brand that can attract various opportunities, or align with their chosen career.
Not only are more individuals sharing their own image via social media platforms, they are consuming more content provided by celebrities and influencers. A recent survey indicated that 62% of women interested in beauty follow influencers on social media.[iii] Over 1,000 beauty influencers operate across various platforms, with an average number of followers ranging between 417,134 and 767,65, depending on the platform.[iv]
For all these reasons, social media has been found to be a strong motivator for many patients to invest in cosmetic dental procedures.[v] The UK accounted for 5.3% of the global cosmetic dentistry market in 2022, generating a total revenue of about £1,458.10 million. This is expected to increase to £3,480.15 million by 2030.[vi] The most popular cosmetic dental treatment by far is tooth whitening,[vii] followed by veneers, composite bonding and clear aligner treatment. The Oral Health Foundation has reported that 66% of UK adults have considered having their teeth brightened.[viii]
Lines are sometimes blurred between influence and sponsored content online, and many beauty influencers can be very persuasive. Listening to patients, taking the time to understand their motivations can help engage them, building trust to more effectively educate them on the relative risks and benefits of different tooth whitening treatments.
The advantages of a confident smile
Patients want to look their best for a number of reasons. Many seeking cosmetic treatment believe their psychosocial wellbeing will improve, and the primary driver tends to be internal rather than a desire to please others.[ix] Improved dental aesthetics has been shown to support patients’ psychological wellbeing and quality of life.[x]
While some physical traits, like facial symmetry,[xi] tend to be consistently identified as attractive, many factors are down to personal grooming, appealing personality traits, individual tastes or cultural ideals. Attractiveness is multifaceted, but when people are deemed to be more physically appealing, they are perceived to be more intelligent, healthy, trustworthy, and sociable.[xii] Physical attractiveness, especially when combined with personal grooming and personability, vastly improves a host of life experiences, including reproductive success and criminal justice outcomes.[xiii]
Social media has given rise to a desire among many patients to represent themselves consistently and positively across various online media platforms. A strong personal brand is thought to enhance an individual’s credibility, conveying their personality, ethos, credentials, social skills and life experiences relevant to desired opportunities.[xiv]
As part of this, a well-tailored brand leverages appealing visuals, which benefit from including a well-lit, close-up, high-resolution profile picture, with the individual looking well-groomed, confident and comfortable.[xv] A study based on 800 profile pictures found that a smile leads to a perception that the person is more likable, competent, and influential. When people smile with their teeth showing in photos, they are twice as likely to be rated as likable than if they smile with their mouths closed.[xvi]
A safe, bright smile that’s on-trend
While cosmetic enhancements to improve patients’ smiles are very much on the rise, dazzling, BL1 white teeth are falling out of favour. Risks associated with aggressive bleaching,[xvii] and negative news stories about dental tourism[xviii] may partly be responsible, but trends also reflect a renewed interest in natural beauty popularised by key influencers. For example, celebrities like Rylan Clark and Simon Cowell have had their distinctively bright veneers replaced with more natural-looking ones in recent years.
Aggressive tooth bleaching with hydrogen or carbamide peroxide-based products can lead to tooth sensitivity, irritation to the gingiva and changes in the microhardness of enamel.xvii Regulations on the sale of over-the-counter, peroxide-based whitening kits came into force in 2012. However, products are available with ingredients that pose a serious risk to patients’ dental tissue,[xix] and in 2019 illegal whitening procedures reportedly rose by 26%.[xx]
By recommending safe tooth-brightening products, like BRILLIANT Lumina from COLTENE, clinicians can safeguard their patients’ oral health while also offering a bright, well-groomed, natural look that’s totally on-trend. BRILLIANT Lumina is based on the active ingredient PAP (phthalimido peroxy caproic acid), which – unlike hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide – has no erosive effect on the tooth structure.
Patients seek tooth whitening treatment for a number of reasons, but an increasingly important driver is the need to present themselves well across all their social and professional networks. Beauty might be skin-deep, but being able to present a confident, well-looked-after smile does improve the wellbeing of patients, and may well offer them an advantage in a competitive world. Supporting patients in achieving this safely will provide them with a natural, healthy smile, fit for a selfie.
For more on COLTENE, visit https://colteneuk.com/BRILLIANTLumina
email info.uk@coltene.com or call 0800 254 5115.
Author: Nicolas Coomber Coltene – National Account & Marketing Manager
[i] Broz M. Selfie statistics, demographics, & fun facts. Phototutorial [internet]. December 2024. Available at: https://photutorial.com/selfie-statistics/ Accessed January 2025
[ii] Broz M. Photo Statistics: How Many Photos are Taken Every Day? Phototutorial [internet]. December 2024. Available at: https://photutorial.com/photos-statistics. Accessed January 2025
[iii] Schwarz R. Why Social Media Marketing Will Only Become More Popular In The Beauty Industry In 2022. Forbes Magazine [Internet]. February 2022. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbescommunicationscouncil/2022/02/15/why-social-media-marketing-will-only-become-more-popular-in-the-beauty-industry-in-2022/ Accessed January 2025
[iv] The State of Influencer Marketing in the Beauty Industry. September 2024. Available at: https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-beauty-industry/ Accessed January 2025
[v] Abbasi MS, Lal A, Das G, Salman F, Akram A, Ahmed AR, Maqsood A, Ahmed N. Impact of Social Media on Aesthetic Dentistry: General Practitioners’ Perspectives. Healthcare (Basel). 2022 Oct 17;10(10):2055. doi: 10.3390/healthcare10102055. PMID: 36292502; PMCID: PMC9602612.
[vi] UK Cosmetic Dentistry Market Size & Outlook, 2022-2030. Grandviewresearch.com [Internet]. Available at:
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/horizon/outlook/cosmetic-dentistry-market/uk Accessed January 2025
[vii] Carey CM. Tooth whitening: what we now know. J Evid Based Dent Pract. 2014 Jun;14 Suppl:70-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jebdp.2014.02.006. Epub 2014 Feb 13. PMID: 24929591; PMCID: PMC4058574.
[viii] Why a white smile should also be a healthy smile. Word of Mouth. Oral Health foundation. June 2020. Available at: https://www.dentalhealth.org/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=1ebdcc2d-d9d3-474c-9432-7ed1da5bfb87. Accessed January 2025
[ix] Maisel A, Waldman A, Furlan K, Weil A, Sacotte K, Lazaroff JM, Lin K, Aranzazu D, Avram MM, Bell A, Cartee TV, Cazzaniga A, Chapas A, Crispin MK, Croix JA, DiGiorgio CM, Dover JS, Goldberg DJ, Goldman MP, Green JB, Griffin CL, Haimovic AD, Hausauer AK, Hernandez SL, Hsu S, Ibrahim O, Jones DH, Kaufman J, Kilmer SL, Lee NY, McDaniel DH, Schlessinger J, Tanzi E, Weiss ET, Weiss RA, Wu D, Poon E, Alam M. Self-reported Patient Motivations for Seeking Cosmetic Procedures. JAMA Dermatol. 2018 Oct 1;154(10):1167-1174. doi: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2018.2357. PMID: 30140900; PMCID: PMC6233736.
[x] Tin-Oo MM, Saddki N, Hassan N. Factors influencing patient satisfaction with dental appearance and treatments they desire to improve aesthetics. BMC Oral Health. 2011 Feb 23;11:6. doi: 10.1186/1472-6831-11-6. PMID: 21342536; PMCID: PMC3059271.
[xi] Little AC, Jones BC, DeBruine LM. Facial attractiveness: evolutionary based research. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2011 Jun 12;366(1571):1638-59. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0404. PMID: 21536551; PMCID: PMC3130383.
[xii] Franklin RG, Zebrowitz L. Attraction and Beauty. NOBAproject.com. ND. Available at: https://nobaproject.com/modules/attraction-and-beauty Accessed January 2025.
[xiii] Knox KN, TenEyck MF. Beauty is only skin deep: An examination of physical attractiveness, attractive personality, and personal grooming on criminal justice outcomes. PLoS One. 2023 Oct 11;18(10):e0291922. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291922. PMID: 37819871; PMCID: PMC10566695.
[xiv] Cote C. Personal Branding: What It Is & Why It Matters. Harvard Business School Online. Business Insights. Available at: https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/personal-branding-at-work. Accessed January 2025
[xv] Abbot L. 10 Tips for Taking a Professional LinkedIn Profile Photo. LinkedIn [internet]. August 2024. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/product-tips/tips-for-taking-professional-linkedin-profile-pictures Accessed January 2025
[xvi] New Research Study Breaks Down “The Perfect Profile Photo”. Photofeeler [internet]. January 2023. https://blog.photofeeler.com/perfect-photo/ Accessed January 2025.
[xvii] Mondelli RFL, Gabriel TRCG, Rizzante FAP, Magalhães AC, Bombonatti JFS, Ishikiriama SK. Do different bleaching protocols affect the enamel microhardness? Eur J Dent. 2015 Jan-Mar;9(1):25-30. doi: 10.4103/1305-7456.149634. PMID: 25713480; PMCID: PMC4319295.
[xviii] Brown E, Reast A. Turkey teeth warning to those hoping for Cheryl Cole’s smile after woman left toothless Independent [internet] March 2023. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/cheryl-cole-smile-turkey-teeth-warning-b2300235.html Accessed January 2025.
[xix] Greenwall-Cohen, J., Francois, P., Silikas, N. et al. The safety and efficacy of ‘over the counter’ bleaching products in the UK. Br Dent J 226, 271–276 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-019-0011-6
[xx] Health charity voices concerns regarding illegal tooth whitening. Word of Mouth. Oral Health Foundation. February 2020. Available at: https://www.dentalhealth.org/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=feb894bb-e165-42cc-ac6f-06ab425bac56 Accessed January 2025
