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!
