Am I the only person who is puzzled by the desire of people to have their teeth converted into oversized, unfeasibly white blocks or porcelain? There is a puzzling myth surrounding dental aesthetics that is fundamentally at odds with the beauty that nature creates for us. This “myth of veneers” or myth of tooth whitening” is clearly refuted by an academic study carried out in the early 1990’s.
In this study (non-dental) people were asked to look at photos of teeth and smiles before rating them for attractiveness. Not surprisingly, teeth that were whiter scored more highly than teeth that were darker. Also, aligned teeth scored more highly than crooked teeth. But looking at the results intelligently shows that the teeth and smiles rated most highly were those that were healthy. The important distinction is that lack of ill health is attractive.
When selecting a mate our subconscious mind wants us to find the healthiest individual to have babies with so our babies have the best chance for success. An attractive smile (attractive teeth) is present when they have grown in a healthy mouth with no dental disease and no loss of teeth. Early loss of baby teeth causes crooked adult teeth. So very crooked teeth show a history of dental disease. Discoloured teeth give away dental disease or trauma and imply a genetic weakness. Teeth in the young are whiter than teeth of an individual who is beyond child rearing years.
The objective for making beautiful teeth starts to look quite obvious when we make the correct distinctions. Teeth can be lighter but still within the range of what is normal for someone in their 20’s. Teeth should be well aligned but not so regular that they appear fake like dentures. Teeth should look like they “just grew there healthy and without problems”
Shown here are a number of teeth restored according to the request of each patient. Almost all patients chose to have teeth that maintain the appearance of the mouth and this means mimicking nature 100%. In fact, it is far more challenging to make restorations that are undetectable instead of fake looking teeth that stand out as “Hollywood Smile”.
© 2004 - 2010 Specialist Dental Partners, Melbourn Science Park, Cambridge Road, Melbourn, Cambridgeshire. SG8 6HB UK.
