SMILE DESIGN The
Hollywood vs. The Natural Smile
The Hollywood Smile
The "Hollywood Smile" is a media ideal dating
back to the early 1900’s. Teeth were in such disrepair that people would not
smile for photographs. The only smiles seen were created in published media as
cartoons. Artists depicted teeth as solid white areas with the upper and lower
teeth separated by a curved line following the lower lip. The curved line
created an image of the front teeth being the longest and every tooth gets
shorter all the way to the corners of the mouth.
Today, the "Hollywood Smile" is an improved media ideal. The lips are filled
with very white teeth that block out darkness in the back of the mouth. Incising
edges of top teeth follow the line of the lower lip coming within a millimeter
of contact. Two front teeth are most prominent with adjacent teeth appearing
sequentially smaller from the front teeth to the corners of the mouth creating
perspective. Ideally, each tooth looks one sixteenth smaller than the adjacent
tooth in front of it. There is symmetry of tooth color, shape and position right
side to left side of the midline.
A masculine smile has square teeth. Incising edges of top teeth follows a
straighter line. A feminine smile has rounded teeth. Incising edges of top teeth
follows the lower lip line closer creating more curvature.
The Natural Smile
Natural smiles are seen everyday. Teeth fill the space between the lips and
block out darkness in the back of the mouth. They are shades that blend with
skin tones. Incising edges of top teeth follow the line of the lower lip,
however, the two lateral incisors adjacent to the front teeth are shorter. The
eyeteeth appear longer. Two front teeth are most prominent with adjacent teeth
appearing sequentially smaller from the front teeth to the corners of the mouth
creating perspective. Ideally, each tooth looks one sixteenth smaller than the
adjacent tooth in front of it. There is symmetry of tooth color, shape and
position right side to left side of the midline, however variation creates a
natural appearance. Development and aging of teeth alters these relationships.
Natural smiles often have rotated, tilted, crowded, or spaced teeth. There is
wear of outer and biting surfaces, gum recession and root exposure, chips,
cracks or cavities. The four front incisors are the same color, the eyeteeth
darker and the bicuspids and molars slightly lighter. Each tooth has great color
variation over its surface. Teeth have a relatively translucent enamel shell
with yellow dentin under it. As enamel thins and shows through yellow dentin,
the tooth looks more yellow as occurs in the third of the tooth closest to the
gums. Areas where dentin is not behind enamel as occurs between teeth and along
the biting edge, appear dark gray because the translucent enamel allows darkness
of the back of the mouth to show through.
The back of the mouth is a dark space as no light enters. Incorrect tooth
position, tooth loss, malformed teeth, and loss of tooth structure from trauma
or cavities create spaces that show the darkness of the back of the mouth.
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Copyright Cosmetic Dentist
Wellesley
Paul R. Chalifoux, DDS
277 Linden Street Suite 209
Wellesley, MA 02482
781-235-1747
chalifoux@comcast.net
