If you don’t like your smile, you aren’t alone. Millions of Americans wish they could change something (or more than one thing) about their teeth. If your teeth are crooked, chipped, or yellowed, then you know what it’s like to feel embarrassed to smile. Or the feeling when you catch someone staring at your teeth. Having problems with your teeth doesn’t make you a bad person, but it can affect how other people view you. Not to worry, because your Shorewood cosmetic dentist is here to help!
Kelton conducted a survey a few years ago about smiles. What they found is that people with good smiles make better first impressions on others. For example, people with straight teeth were perceived to be more successful, wealthier, and smarter. People with good teeth are considered more likely to have good personalities, too.
Whether it’s fair or not, your teeth could be helping you — or hurting you — in social situations, like job interviews and dates.
As a Shorewood cosmetic dentist, we offer a wide range of dental services to help you and your family feel better about your smiles. It’s easier to have a confident smile when you are happy with your teeth.
Teeth Are Part Of Your First Impression
In 2013, USA Today published the results of a survey of Americans about what they consider “must haves” in a partner. One thing was clear, teeth are important to most people. According to the results, 58 percent of men and 71 percent of women said they judge potential partners on their teeth. This was the highest-rated featured for both genders. (For what it’s worth, grammar was second for both groups.)
What does this mean to you? If you are already married, you may feel like your teeth are good enough. (You did get married after all.)
Romance isn’t the only reason people look for partners, however. If you are an employer, and two qualified candidates come in for an interview. Good teeth could be a factor in your final decision.
Remember the Kelton survey we mentioned before. If an employer has two equally qualified candidates, he or she is more likely to find the one with good teeth to be smarter and to have a better personality. His or her clients and customers are more likely to have that same impression, too.
It would be nice if people didn’t judge one another on things like how they dress and how their teeth look, but that’s not the world where we live. With that in mind, cosmetic dentistry might give you leg up on your competition for jobs. It might also improve your chances of finding the love of your life.
Understanding Your Tooth Issues
If you don’t like your teeth, you still may not have considered your specific problems, much less if or how cosmetic dentistry could fix them. There are number of reasons you may not like the appearance of your smile. Some of the more common problems are:
- Yellow Teeth — This may be the result of poor oral hygiene. This could start with the things you eat and drink (coffee, soft drinks, tea). This could happen because you use tobacco or you used, too. (Tobacco stains can be hard to remove, even years later.)
- Crooked Teeth — When you smile, are your teeth perfectly straight? At the very least, are the visible teeth straight? Teeth that are lined up parallel to one another give your smile a cleaner, neater appearance.
- Crowded teeth, gapped teeth — Both of these are spacing issues. Whether your teeth look pushed together or spread apart, it affects the appearance of your smile.
- Chipped Teeth — Missing part of a tooth can sometimes be more noticeable than having a complete set of teeth. If your have a visibly broken tooth, people may be more focused on that one tooth than on seeing you for who you are.
What message are your teeth sending to the people you meet?
Can My Shorewood Cosmetic Dentist Help?
The good news is cosmetic dentistry can fix all the problems we mentioned, and it can be used to fix multiple problems.
- Yellow Teeth: cosmetic dentistry offers teeth whitening and veneers.
- Crooked Teeth: veneers and short-term braces are cosmetic options.
- Chipped Teeth: veneers can help with that, too. (Veneers in Shorewood, IL are a particularly versatile service within cosmetic dentistry.)
What about something we haven’t mentioned already. Can cosmetic dentistry work on a “gummy” smile? Yes, it can. We can perform laser gum reshaping. This will change the way your lips open, so that it reveals more of your teeth rather than your gums.
If you or someone in your family is interested in cosmetic dentistry, we welcome you to visit our dentist office in Shorewood to learn more about our many services. No matter your issue or issues, we can help you get the smile you’ve always wanted.
Call Shorewood Family Dental Care at 815-725-5991 or use our online form to make your appointment.
