Celebrity Smiles

Instead of going to our normal classes on Friday, all of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year dental students attended a Continuing Ed lecture with many practicing dentists. The guest speaker was Dr. Vince Kokich, a renowned orthodontist from Tacoma, Washington. Dr. Kokich spoke about improving the esthetics of front teeth, and to prove his points he used many photos of celebrities' smiles.
Look at the following celebrities: Mel Gibson, Dr. Phil, Tom Cruise, and Penelope Cruz. They have pretty nice smiles, right? Who do you think has the most unpleasing smile?




According to Dr. Kokich, much of what we perceive as attractive or unattractive has to do with symmetry. People who have symmetrical teeth will be viewed as having a more pleasing smile. Interestingly, when someone's front teeth are symmetrical, even if they are not lined up in the center of the face, we still view those smiles as attractive. Have you ever noticed that Dr. Phil, Penelope Cruz, and Mel Gibson all have front teeth that are "off-center"? Probably not, according to the lecture we heard.



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But what about Tom Cruise? What's going on with his teeth? His teeth are not only off-center, they are also tilted at an angle. Our eyes easily pick up on this tilt and make us perceive his teeth as less attractive. In Hollywood, where looks are everything, Tom Cruise is very aware that his teeth are "tilted". He's gone to three dentists in to get his teeth fixed, but none correctly fixed the tilt to his teeth. Tom Cruise may have a face that is worth a million dollars, but it's not due to his dentist!

Going to a continuing education lecture on Friday instead of our regular classes was great! Getting off campus for the day, interacting with practicing dentists, and getting some scientific verification that we don't have to be perfect to be beautiful.