CHICAGO, Illinois — April 8, 2004 — Patients ask dentists about whitening and bleaching their teeth more frequently than any other topic, according to results from the American Dental Association’s (ADA) 2003 Public Opinion Survey: Oral Health of the U.S. Population.

The survey revealed that 19.3 percent of patients posed questions to their dentists about tooth whitening, up 8.3 percentage points from the 2001 Public Opinion Survey. It also showed that women were more likely to have used tooth-whitening products than men.

But ADA Consumer Advisor Dr. Matt Messina advises patients to consult their dentists to determine the most appropriate whitening treatment.

“This is especially important for patients with many fillings, crowns and extremely dark stains. A thorough oral examination is essential to determine if bleaching is an appropriate course of treatment,” he explains.

Queries about dental insurance were the next most frequent at 14.6 percent, a rise of 3.1 percentage points from the same question in the 2001 survey.

Rounding out the top five questions patients asked their dentists are cosmetic procedures at 11.4 percent, down slightly from 2001’s 12.1 percent; new dental technologies at 11.2 percent, down somewhat from 2001’s 11.8 percent; and dental fees, unchanged at 9.2 percent.

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