What is the Best Length for Your Teeth?

It might not be obvious to you, but the length of your teeth can greatly affect the look and feel of your smile. Teeth that are too short can make you look older, while those that are too long can be very unappealing; it has to hit that in-between length to get that attractive smile. Thanks to crowns and veneers, anyone who wants to get that “perfect smile” can now do so with cosmetic dentistry. Your cosmetic dentist in The Colony can determine how to go about fixing your smile with the following criteria.

Test # 1: Relax Your Mouth Muscles

Your dentist will ask you to relax your mouth and face muscles. Slightly open your mouth so that your back teeth are not touching. The upper teeth should be completely relaxed. From this position, your dentist will want to see about 1 or 2 millimeters of your front teeth showing. If none are showing, your front teeth might be too short. If more than 2 millimeters show up, you might have teeth that are too long, a large overbite, or a short upper lip.

Test #2: Give a Full Smile

In the next step, your dentist will ask you to smile to determine just how much of the front teeth shows. If all of them are showing, the next thing to see is the tooth’s length versus its width. If the length and width are the same, it might be too short. More so if the teeth are too wide than long, as they are very short and aged. Most of the time, this is a result of teeth being worn away from grinding, something that is common among older individuals.

A study was done where the public was shown different people smiling, and were made to observe the length of their front teeth. From the data gathered, they were able to determine that the most beautiful smile had front teeth that are 1.29 times longer than they are wide. In dentistry, this is called a 78 percent width-length ratio. This is a formula for your dentist to establish the ideal visual length for your two front teeth.

You might also use this length-width ratio to test just how well-trained a particular cosmetic dentist who has studied the finer points of cosmetic dentistry is. This can come in very handy when you are looking for a well-trained dentist to fix your smile. Ask your prospective dentists what the ideal length of the upper two upper front teeth is. A competent cosmetic dentist should give you an answer similar to the ones explained above.

Using this ideal length, you can test and see if you like the size before any kind of cosmetic dentistry treatment is done. Filling material is temporarily added to your short two front teeth, which can then be evaluated by your dentist by making your mouth and face relax or by instructing you to make a big smile. This simple test for optimum esthetics can be performed without the need for numbing medicine or any drilling.

Test #3: Follow the “Smile Line”

Another criterion that cosmetic dentists usually use is the “smile line.” In this test, you will be asked to smile and the dentist will see if the edges of your eight upper front teeth follow the contour of your lower lip. For cosmetic dentists, this is called “following the smile line.” The photo below is a clear example of a smile that follows the “smile line.” Obviously, this is a post-treatment picture of a lady who has had porcelain veneers.

Test #4: Check Speech Function

The last test to verify the right teeth length is with the speech function of phonetics. Teeth that are too long will hit the upper lip all the time, greatly affecting the pronunciation of “v” and “f” words. To test this, your dentist will let you say words like “victory” or “fifty-five” to see if your upper teeth touch your lower lip. If your teeth are too long and your front teeth hit your lower lip too hard, it will be hard to pronounce the “v” and “f” sounds.

Yes, the above four criteria are very essential in creating your perfect smile. But none of them is more important than you like your new smile with your veneers or crowns. The ultimate criteria are that you have to be completely comfortable with the appliance in place, and be able to properly speak, eat or drink. In the end, determining the right length for your veneers or crows should be a decision made between you and Dr. Daniel.