The power of a smile, Do you need cosmetic dentistry?
Posted by Jonathan Campbell on Tue, Feb 02, 2010 @ 07:26 PM
This forum on linkedIn discusses the importance of a smile in sales and I would add life. One of the common things people worry about is whether their smile might detract from their appearance.
One of the things you'll notice, if you look at a lot of teeth, is that most celebrities and people that we consider beautiful do not have perfectly straight teeth. You can see some really bad examples here. Their lack of perfection in the pearly white department does not seem to detract from their ability to succeed in professions where image is most everything.
A Frank Spear study found that there are some specific things that are definitely noticed by most people and can make your smile be a liability rather than an asset. What follows are the key smile indicators that people noticed.
- Are all the teeth that show the same color or shade? A dead tooth or a tooth with a poorly done crown or an old crown can really stand out. Making a single tooth match or masking a dark tooth can be a very challenging dental problem. But the right dentist and lab technician can overcome that.
- Are the teeth light in color, but not too light? This can be a little tough to judge. As for too light, your teeth should not be lighter than the whites of your eyes. When you smile people should notice your eyes first and then your smile. If your smile is too white, it looks unnatural. As for too dark, dentists use a shade guide to match dental restorations.
If your teeth are in the top half of the guide, your teeth are not too dark to detract from your appearance. - Do you show to much of your gums when you smile? Generally you should show a little less than 1/4" of gum tissue when you smile. If you show more it can detract from your appearance.
- Do your teeth follow the shape of your lower lip when you smile? They should your teeth should have curve similar in shape to your lip. If they curve the opposite direction it can look like you're frowning or mad even when you're smiling.
- Do you have any gaps between your teeth especially your front teeth or are you missing any teeth that are visible when you smile? People when asked to evaluate a person's intelligence based only on photos always ranked those with gaps between their front teeth and missing teeth as less intelligent. Lauren Bacall and David Letterman manage to pull off the "gappy" smile. But they aren't being asked to be considered intelligent.
Those are the main things people notice. A person can get away with a little crowding, teeth that are worn, other small defects, or teeth that aren't neon white and no one is likely to notice. But if you suffer from one of these "noticeable" smile defects, it may hurt your image and other's perception of you. Cosmetic dentistry can help.
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Email (info@legacydental.com) us a close-up and we'd be happy to rank your smile and make some recommendations. The dentists at Legacy Dental in Salt Lake City, would be happy to answer any cosmetic dental questions you may have.