The Top 10 Female Celebrity Smiles- #10

We always see these types of lists. People magazine’s most beautiful people, Forbes magazine top 100 most influential people. Humans have a fascination with ranking, categorizing and making lists for nearly every subject. So here I go.

Beauty is subjective, no doubt. And no different are beautiful smiles and teeth. It would be easy to compile of list of beautiful men and women with perfect text book smiles but that is not what my list is about. Rather, using my knowledge of dental esthetics and cosmetic principles, my approach will be different. You’ll see. I first will start with females, frankly because there are a lot more pictures of female celebrities whose teeth can be see clearly than men...So #10 is...

Lana Parrilla: I just got done saying that this list would not be just a collection of perfect teeth. But you need to start with natures ideal. 

Even though she plays the evil queen on ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” her teeth are usually reserved for the princess. The interesting thing about her teeth is that they go against the notion still taught by many dental experts that female teeth should be more tapered and less square than male teeth. Meaning the corners are rounded rather than at 90 degree angles (think Julia Roberts)

Her teeth have all the characteristics that patient usually describe to me in what they would like: 

Straight and White!

Even more importantly the proportions are excellent; the centrals should be dominant as they are. Her enamel is white but not fake white and natural teeth can be white but they must maintain some translucency and opalescence that is sometimes difficult to achieve with dental materials, especially when the patient’s teeth may be starting off fairly dark or discolored.

Sometimes forgotten when dentist and patients are staring at their teeth in a close up mirror, or dissecting each tooth, is the big picture. How the teeth look in the face we usually say. Here important aspects that are universally considered beautiful attributes are:

 Symmetry- It is very important for the central two teeth to be mirror images of one another. And also nice when other teeth are symmetrical with their right or left counterpart.

The cant- the horizontal plane of the teeth needs to be level with horizontal or in most people an imaginary line between the pupils. If off it is very noticeable and we then say the teeth is canted.

The Reveal- Most people agree that showing the full length (and even a little gum) at full smile is ideal.

The Smile Line- the bottom edges of the upper teeth should follow the curvature of the lower lip.

The Buccal Corridor- A fancy name for the back teeth being seen in the smile. If the teeth behind the canines are not visible it creates a shadow and the appearance of a narrow smile, rather than a broad wide smile that is desired in models and celebrities.

The Midline- The vertical line between the two central teeth should be right down the middle usually indicated by the center of the cupids bow portion of the upper lip.

Congratulations Lana, you made my list despite your perfect textbook teeth and smile!