Seattle and Bellevue Dentist

Next time you meet someone for the first time pay attention to what it is about them you notice first. Eighty five percent of people look at  the other person’s eyes first and then they look at their smile before noticing anything else about them.

As a cosmetic dentist, I am among those fifteen percent that looks at the smile first. A smile says a lot about a person; maybe it is true that a smile carries thousands of words. The discolored front tooth tells about a childhood accident. The worn down teeth projects a stressed personality and long white, scalloped teeth exude sex appeal.

During this election season I have been watching and hearing  major presidential candidates. I have read and listened to their speeches and their debates. I have wondered what their smiles suggest about their personality and self confidence.

 Senator Barack Obama’s smile projects warmth and likability. His teeth are slightly longer and more rounded than usual. His smile is his face’s most   dominant feature. the white, soft smile makes him appear accessible and approachable.

 He has a wide smile that shows over twelve teeth; normally eight teeth are the most people show when they smile. The wide smile makes his eyes to squint.   Squinting of the eyes during smiling is an indication of an honest smile.

  Senator Hillary Clinton’s smile projects confidence and success. Her teeth are more squared at the edges than I have seen with women’s teeth usually. That   makes the appearance of her smile more powerful and in charge.

 I have also seen some photos of her with the teeth not as white as her portraits. I am not sure if the whiter smile we see on this photo is photoshoped  or not. She might have gotten her teeth whitened also at one point or another. Her eyes are the more prominent feature of her face and her smile just compliments them.

 Senator John McCain’s teeth protrude slightly outward and his lower teeth are crowded. He appears ambitious but very conservative. The Metal crown on his upper right side visible when he smiles gives an impression of traditional, no-nonsense type of person. Whiter teeth just does not work for him and it will look unnatural.

His large Buccinator muscles (cheek muscles) represents a clencher and projects an aggressive but non-threatening personality.

I guess the question is whose smile do you want to see on your TV screen for the next four years.