When many people think about the perfect smile, many think that all they need are straight teeth. While straight teeth help, it's more than this. The things that make up a perfect smile include:
Teeth colour
Pearly white smiles are the most appealing because they appear clean and well-cared for. Though some discoloration occurs naturally over time, certain lifestyle choices can hasten the darkening process and result in staining.
Drinks like tea, red wine, coffee, as well as strongly pigmented fruits and vegetables, can cause teeth to darken.
Discoloration can also result from using tobacco products and some drugs. Tetracycline, doxycycline, antihistamines, antipsychotics, antihypertensive medicines, and mouthwashes that contain cetylpyridinium or chlorhexidine are among the treatments that have been shown to discolour or darken teeth.
Maintaining the perfect smile requires diligent oral care and regular dental checkups. While this is the case, many people do not entirely eliminate discoloration over time. Some yellowing on the teeth is unavoidable as the tooth enamel degrades and exposes more of the yellow dentin beneath.
If you want to lighten the colour of your teeth, you can use at-home whitening treatments. If this doesn’t work, use professional laser teeth whitening, which is the most effective method for brightening your smile. Most people have brilliantly white teeth after just one or two sessions.
Teeth spacing
Attractive teeth sit comfortably together. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. Gaps between teeth, missing teeth, overcrowding are all issues that can damage not just the appearance of your smile but also your dental hygiene. Uneven teeth are far more challenging to brush than straight teeth.
Though many people address these issues as teenagers, there are also options for adults, and not all of them entail typical metal braces. Invisalign offers a discreet and cheap way to achieve a more symmetrical smile. You can also go for other treatments, such as porcelain veneers or dental bonding, to fill gaps and conceal slightly uneven teeth.
Healthy gums
Healthy gums are vital for a beautiful smile. In addition to this, maintaining healthy gums will also help you avoid unpleasant side effects of poor dental health and gum disease, such as bad breath. Even if your teeth are beautiful, bleeding gums and poor breath are unattractive.
When you pay attention to the importance of flossing for gum health you will have an easy time keeping a beautiful smile while avoiding costly periodontal surgeries in the long run.
Brushing your teeth properly and using mouthwash to remove bacteria will help keep your gums healthy and pink.
Exposed gum
A common smile issue is the amount of gum visible when smiling. For some people, excessive gum display, or a "gummy smile," creates dissatisfaction and self-consciousness. Gummy grins make the teeth appear substantially smaller and make cleaning more difficult.
Others complain that there isn't enough gum display.
In most people, gum display is often determined by heredity, thus you do not influence it. I asked my dentist whether there were ways to solve it, and Dr. Steven Davidowitz explained that there are a number of cosmetic dentistry procedures, such as laser gum contouring and gum grafting, that can assist.
These procedures are frequently used as part of a comprehensive smile makeover, which, when performed by a reputable cosmetic dentist, result in a smile that you will be proud of.
Bite alignment
Many people struggle to get a precisely straight bite. The perfect smile is one where the upper and lower sets of teeth meet flawlessly in the middle. Unfortunately, many people have smiles that have an overbite or underbite, which, in addition to lowering self-confidence, can lead to hazardous teeth grinding and jaw clenching.
Thankfully, orthodontic treatments such as Invisalign and TMJ Botox injection might help to relax a firmly clenched jaw. Your dentist will provide you with more personalised advice based on dental X-rays and an in-person evaluation.
Symmetry
Nature is wonderful in its symmetry. Unfortunately, that is precisely what many people's teeth lack. Whether an asymmetrical smile is caused by misaligned, lost, damaged, or neglected teeth, cosmetic dentistry treatments such as dental implants and crowns can correct any dental issues that cause your smile to appear off-centre.
Choosing the best approach to address symmetry difficulties depends on a variety of criteria, including your budget and the severity of the problem.
If the lengths of your visible front teeth differ, veneers or crowns can help to balance them out. There are also numerous dentistry procedures that can help to straighten canted teeth and improve the symmetry of the smile.
Procedures that can give you a good smile
As mentioned above, there are plenty of procedures that can help you get the perfect smile that you are after. In addition to the above procedures, other procedures that come in handy include:
Lip fillers
Lip fillers are well known for their ability to increase the lip volume. Lip fillers can also help you get the correct symmetry on your lips.
You need this operation to complete the first prerequisite for a great smile. As a rule of thumb, you need to ensure that the lip filler procedure is done by a professional who knows what they are doing.
Orthodontics
You need this procedure when you have crowded teeth. Orthodontics also helps to fix overlapping jaws.
Gingival aesthetics
This procedure comes in handy if you have a gummy smile. Your dentist may use fillers to give volume to your lips. Or you could remove excess gum tissue to get your ratios correct. For a great experience, work with a professional who offers non-invasive ways to remove a gummy smile.
Parting shot
As you can see, a lot of effort goes into giving you the perfect smile. While this is the case, there is a lot you can do every day to keep your mouth healthy and beautiful. The first step toward having the best smile possible is to establish and stick to a daily oral health practice.
Simply brushing and flossing correctly will make your gums pinker, lowering your chance of cavities and tooth loss.
If you have an issue that needs to be addressed, surgical and non-surgical procedures can help you improve not just your overall appearance but also your confidence and self-esteem. Soon, you'll not only be willing but eager to show that wonderful smile.
This article is part of the HealthManagement.org Point-of-View Programme.
