Positive Impacts of Smile Makeovers

By Matthew Candelaria

The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) regularly sponsors research into the effectiveness of cosmetic dentistry procedures, and they have found some surprising results. An earlier study showed that the vast majority of Americans (99.7%) believe that a smile is an important social asset, and 96% of adults believe that an attractive smile makes a person more appealing to members of the opposite sex, but more recent findings have given depth and breadth to the earlier findings.

Study Setup
A statistically significant and racially diverse group of Americans were shown a series of pictures of eight individuals either before or after undergoing cosmetic dentistry smile makeovers. The group was divided in half, with each seeing a group of pictures containing one picture of each individual, either before or after undergoing the smile makeover. The changes for two of the individuals were considered mild, for two they were considered moderate, and for four they were considered extreme. None of the pictures showed people with missing or visibly rotten teeth, however. They were then asked to rate the pictures on a scale of one to ten to say how much the person in the picture was:

· Attractive
· Intelligent
· Happy
· Successful in their career
· Friendly
· Interesting
· Kind
· Wealthy
· Popular with the opposite sex
· Sensitive to other people

Results
So how many of these characteristics saw improvement as a result of cosmetic dentistry? All of them. Not only did it make a difference in all cases, but in all cases it made a statistically significant difference. That's right. Not only does a brighter, whiter smile make you seem more attractive and popular with the opposite sex, but it also helps in more unexpected ways, making you think that you are intelligent, kind, and sensitive as well.

The categories where people benefited the most from cosmetic dentistry were:

· Attractive
· Popular with the opposite sex
· Wealthy

Perhaps not surprising. The areas where people improved the least as a result of cosmetic dentistry were:

· Kind· Happy
· Sensitive to other people

Again, not too surprising, but we should remember that even in these cases, getting a smile makeover made a statistically significant difference in how the people were perceived.

Degree of change
Not surprisingly, if the change between pictures was classified as "mild," usually entailing only tooth whitening, or "moderate," which included whitening and possibly some minor reshaping with tooth bonding or porcelain veneers, the subject experienced a significantly lower boost than those whose change was classed as "extreme," including a high degree of whitening, a high level of tooth straightening, as well as gum recontouring.

Gender Bias
Again, perhaps not surprisingly, women received a higher boost in the categories attractive, popular with the opposite sex, and wealthy than did men undergoing smile makeovers. The only category in which men saw a bigger increase after the makeover was successful in their careers.
To learn more about smile makeovers and what they can do for you, consult the website of Bay Area Cosmetic Dentistry, serving Fremont, Oakland, Sunnyvale, and San Jose.