What A Family Dentist Looks For In A Smile - The Components Of A Smile

When helping you achieve the perfect smile, a family dentist or DDS (doctor of dental surgery) looks to see how everything sits in relation to each other in order to create your perfect smile. It isn't a specific measurement or tilt of your lips, but how your teeth look in comparison to each other - your lips, facial features, and even your gums. Having or creating the perfect smile means satisfying ten requirements to get the smile that fits your unique appearance.

Lines And Proportions

Your smile line is the line created by the top of your lower lip. The family dentist will look to see if your upper teeth follow that line. The bottom of your lower lip should have the same line as the gums of your lower jaw. Regardless of the size or shape of your smile, this should always hold true.

Another major determiner is your maxillary incisors (two front top teeth). The DDS will look to see if the length and width of your two front teeth have a ratio of 1:1.618. This is considered aesthetically ideal. The width of the first three teeth on either side of the center of your mouth should be the same distance as the width of your two front teeth.

Axial, Midline, And Arch Lines

It doesn't matter exactly where your features are on your face, they need to line up to your teeth and lip lines. To check your arch and midline, the family dentist will look to see that your two front teeth meet in the center of your face to your nose and that they sit parallel to your eyes. It is also important that your teeth be vertically tipped, slightly towards the center of your mouth.

Tooth Curve And Size

The curve, also called the silhouette, of your teeth needs to match. The DDS will look at your maxillary incisors and then compare them to the teeth behind each one until he reaches the ends of your jaws. Your teeth should have a symmetrical (the same) appearance in the front and an asymmetrical appearance in the back portions of your teeth. This is commonly referred to as examining the maxillary incisal embrasure of your smile.

Gum Shape And Point Of Contact

The spot where your teeth touch each other should follow in a straight line that runs parallel to your lip line and the bottom line of your top teeth. The DDS will also check the lines your gums make and the amount of gums he or she can see when you smile. The points of your gums between your teeth make up your gum line. For the perfect smile, you should not see more than three millimeters of gums between the top of your tooth and the bottom of your upper lip.

Matching Upper And Lower Teeth

The color and occlusion of your teeth means your family dentist is looking to see that your upper and lower teeth appear the same. The DDS will ensure both sets of teeth align with each other vertically and horizontally. He or she will also look at the color of your teeth. This isn't necessarily how white your teeth are, but that they match your hair, skin and eye color nicely. Each tooth will be looked at separately to see if it matches the ones next to it, and then the dentist will look at your teeth coloring as a whole.

Regardless of whether you select an urban Chicago DDS or a rural Illinois family dentist, they will all look for the same things. No one set of measurements creates the perfect smile. Instead, the perfect smile is when your gums, teeth, and lips align with your particular facial features and coloring as well as too each other.

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