Can Cosmetic Dentistry Make Your Smile More Influential?

Most of us strive to be successful in life whether it be at work, with financial success, climbing the social ladder, finding love, etc. For many, it takes hard work, for others it might be a stroke of luck that got them to the top. Many of us overlook appearances while attempting to gain success. Recent studies were done by Time magazine, looking at the top 100 most influential people. What they discovered was, they all had very similar, consistent, facial and smile features.

Striking Similarities

The study showed striking facial similarities between these people regardless of occupation or gender. The researchers believe these common features may play a role in the expressions of influential faces. They also found that people’s smiles play a huge role in how others perceive them. Any good cosmetic dentist will tell you that the perfect smile is one that achieves the right balance of aesthetics (color, shape, and size), form, and function. Previous research confirms that a person’s smile has a huge influence on how others perceive you.

The research team examined closely the photos of the most influential people in the world. They used 36 variables for each photo to “score” each one in relation to each other and the rest of the population. These variables were broken down as follows:

-Smile-to-face proportions

-Smile proportions

-Dental proportions

-Facial and Dental Symmetries

-Other qualities relating to the smile that included tooth shape and color

It is not only important that your teeth are straight and white, but also that they are in proportion to each other and to the rest of your face, and are symmetrical.

How To Make Your Smile More Influential?
Cosmetic dentistry has really developed into an art form. Many dentists call themselves “cosmetic dentists” but few have the skill, experience, and knowledge to make a smile makeover look natural. Important to remember any cosmetic dental work should always look as natural as possible. This includes using the right materials for the job. Common cosmetic dentistry procedures include:

-Dental Bonding. Dental bonding is the cosmetic dentistry procedure in which tooth colored dental materials are bonded to a tooth. This might be one of the easiest cosmetic dentistry procedures to change our look. Using dental bonding we can change shape, size, color, length, and close any spaces that might be present. Dental bonding is generally completed in the dentist office in as little as an hour. The main drawbacks of dental bonding are chipping, wearing, and staining. The final product is not as strong as a porcelain restoration and may need to be updated over time, but can be done in less time for less money. While dental bonding is also used to restore teeth damaged by tooth decay it can also be used as a cosmetic veneer. This procedure can easily alter your smile in as little as an hour, and is minimally invasive. Dental bonding is a very easy way to make your smile youthful and natural in appearance.

-Porcelain Veneers and Porcelain Crowns. Often called “instant orthodontics”, porcelain veneers can change the alignment of teeth, if the alignment issues are not too extreme. Porcelain veneers and porcelain crowns can be a great way to replace lost tooth structure and alter imperfect teeth creating a more youthful appearance. Porcelain crowns and porcelain veneers tend to require more than one visit, but the results will give you a beautiful, youthful smile that lasts for years to come. Porcelain Veneers are custom made, ultra thin, tooth colored shells that are bonded to your teeth, and do not change color over time. This allows the cosmetic dentist to not only alter color of your teeth, but shape and length as well. Porcelain crowns can be used on teeth that either already have crowns or need more extensive work (having large restorations or tooth decay). Both porcelain veneers and porcelain crowns can as used in cosmetic dentistry to give the patient a flawless, more youthful and natural looking smile.

-Teeth Whitening. This is quite possibly the most popular cosmetic dentistry procedure today. It is safe and effective and comes in a few forms. These forms include in office whitening, at home whitening (with dentist provided trays), as well as use of teeth whitening strips, and topical gels. All of these methods are quite effective for most people. It has been proven by research time and again, that people find a whiter smile to be more youthful and attractive. People tend to feel better about themselves when they are happy with their appearance. Teeth whitening can give patients a dramatic change to their smile with minimal cost and time invested.

-Teeth Contouring. This might be one of the simplest and most cost effective cosmetic dentistry procedures of all. It is usually done without the need for anesthesia and can be as simple as filing down a tooth that appears longer or is slightly out of alignment with the others. Most patients are quite surprised at how such a small adjustment can alter their smile for the better.

-Gum contouring and Gum grafting. Evening out gum levels can help teeth to look more evenly sized and can make short teeth appear longer. Gum grafts can fix areas where gum recession has occurred to make everything appear even and natural again.

-Dental Implants. Dental implants allow cosmetic dentists another option in tooth replacement to recreate a youthful, attractive smile. Whether it is a single tooth or a full mouth restoration, dental implants can fill that need. Missing teeth or open spaces has long been considered a sign of old age. Having a full set of white teeth screams youth especially when they are bright, white, and sparkling. When a person is missing a tooth they have several options. There are partial and complete dentures (including the all on 4 dental implants system), traditional bridges, and dental implants. A dental implant can look and feel just like a natural tooth. It is also easier to keep clean than a traditional bridge. Dental implants are placed directly into bone creating a solid foundation for a natural tooth replacement.

-Bite Reclamation. Over time as we age, we tend to lose some height on our teeth. This loss of height of height is also referred to as loss of vertical dimension. Some other factors that cause this loss include acid reflux or teeth grinding (bruxism). Reclaiming a person’s bite utilizing dental implants and porcelain crowns will increase vertical height which will also remove some of the wrinkles around the mouth. These wrinkles develop as our we age and our mouth’s sag from this loss of dimension. Cosmetic dentistry can fix some of this.

-Botox and Dermal Fillers. Long the realm of cosmetic surgeons, dentistry has now added these procedures to give what is called a dental face lift. In combination with dental work, removing some of those wrinkles on the face and around the mouth specifically will better frame that beautiful, white, youthful smile.

Conclusion
The main takeaway is a balanced smile is the most influential one. Sometimes the job of a cosmetic dentist is finding the right balance between a patients wants and what would look best in the end. Cosmetic dentistry can transform an ordinary smile into a flawless one but need the skill and knowledge of a good cosmetic dentist to achieve this goal.