A US dental centre has been forced to apologise for an "ignorant and offensive" advertisement for free teeth whitening.
Renaissance Dental Centre in North Carolina issued an apology after facing backlash on social media.
The advertisement, placed in the May edition of Midtown Magazine, shows three white dentists dressed in traditional Japanese, Scottish and Native American outfits.
The headline reads, "Everyone smiles in the same language!" while the text underneath the photo says "free whitening system".
A message along the bottom of the ad reads: “No matter your accent or origin, everyone can appreciate a beautiful smile…”.
The backlash against the ad gained momentum when it was posted to Facebook by Ilina Ewen, the chief of staff for North Carolina’s First Lady, according to The News and Observer.
Comments in the post, which appears to have been deleted, called the ad "shameful" and a "whimsical joke".
One person commented: “This is like if SNL did a parody on clueless white people.”
Another said: “Do not dress up in Native American or Japanese garb if you are white like it’s some kind of whimsical joke. How hard is this? (It’s not.)”
The dental centre apologised for the "ignorant and offensive" advertisement.
"In one of our recent advertisements, we attempted to focus upon something that unites us … the warmth and joy behind a smile. We now realise it was ignorant and offensive, and we are truly sorry. We have learned a valuable lesson in this situation. Again, our sincere apologies."
The dentists have previously appeared in ads for the centre.
