From the beginning of time man has just known what looks good and at first didn’t know exactly why. Flowers are beautiful. Some architectural structures look good and then there is the beautiful smile and face. But why do these things look good to us? The Greeks actually defined the mathematical components of beauty and were able to calculate it. They called it the “golden ratio also known as the Golden Proportion.” Not understanding why, they knew that it felt good and it looked good, and they incorporated it into much of their art and into many of their buildings (including the Parthenon, which is generally considered to be antiquity’s most perfect structure)
The Golden Proportion is a fundamental ratio found over and over again in nature that seems to please the human eye. Geometrically, it can be defined as the ratio obtained if a line is divided so that the length of the shorter segment is in the same proportion to that of the longer segment as the length of the longer segment is to the entire line. Mathematically, these ratios are such that the longer segment is 1.618054 times the length of the shorter segment, while the shorter is 0.618054 times the longer.
The secret was lost with the fall of Greece, but it began to resurface in the 16th century when Leonardo da Vinci utilized it in his painting and sculpture. Soon, many of the masters began to proportion their canvases according to the golden ratio, and it is still the shape most preferred today from anything from credit cards, car grills, to table tops.
So what does this have to do with teeth? A beautiful smile also conforms to the Golden Proportion. If you look directly at the perfect smile you will note that the central incisor width is 1.6 times the width of the lateral incisor and the cuspid is .6 times the width of the lateral incisor.
Not only does the beautiful smile conform to the Golden proportion but the symmetry is associated with health. Overlapped disfigured teeth are much more likely to be diseased. Maligned, decayed, discolored teeth most often represent overall poor health. Many systemic disorders are associated with dental diseases manifested by inflamed asymmetrical tissue conditions such as gum loss and inflamed swollen gums. Unattractive teeth are directly associated with poor general health. The beautiful smile is a healthy smile.
A cosmetically pleasing smile is the first thing people notice about you. The person with a smile that does not approach the esthetic ideal will most often be considered unattractive and unhealthy even if they have a great personality. The selection process for business, fun, sports, and especially a mate frequently begins with the most attractive prospect first. It’s just easier when the smile is cosmetically pleasing and person is more attractive otherwise. The selection process is a natural process because we instinctively know that the more attractive more symmetrical a prospect is the more likely that person is to be healthy and successful. Symmetry is associated with health and athletic performance. Studies have shown that the most successful athletes have higher degrees of symmetry. So the symmetrical pleasing smile is just another example of your success potential. The beautiful smile often leads to success in business and mate selection.
What if you are not born with that perfect smile? Correcting your smile is one of the easiest things that you can do to improve your actual health and the way that others see you. Cosmetic dentistry can make up where nature left off. We can correct those defects that were either genetically or environmentally induced. We can close spaces, straighten and whiten teeth, make the teeth and gums even and symmetrical and eliminate disfigured overlapped teeth. The smile is just the beginning. Cosmetic dentistry will not only improve your appearance but will also improve your health and increase your success potential. Give your self the best chance possible start with cosmetic dentistry one of the easiest personal enhancement options available today.