There are many theories about how it should be and where the true canon that dazzles everyone when we smile is hidden, but is it true everything they tell us? This week, from the blog of the clinic Velez & LozanoWe'll take a look at some of the proportions you'd expect in a magazine smile.
The golden ratio
In the eternal quest for perfect aesthetics, many authors have tried to use geometrical proportions and intricate mathematical calculations. An old acquaintance in other fields of medical geometry is the so-called golden ratio. Used in antiquity in the construction of many buildings, such as the Pyramids of Egypt, it was revived during the Renaissance, when the literature of the time, with Leonardo da Vinci at its head, attributed to the proportion the power to provoke aesthetic emotions when perceived. A kind of natural asymmetrical symmetry, with the number phi in the background.
Since that time it has been sought in many fields with varying results. The human smile has been the subject of discussion for the last 40 years, ever since the dentists Lombardi and Levin opened up this field of study in the 1970s. The truth is that very few people naturally meet the strict measures of the golden smile, which has been criticised as unnatural.
The RED ratio theory
One of the most recent theories in this regard aims to lower the requirements of the golden ratio to reality, i.e. to the body of the individual patient. This involves adapting the smile according to personal parameters such as bone structure or general physique. In this way, the naturalness of the smile comes to play an important role, which is essential, especially when it comes to the size of the teeth.
In contrast to the golden ratio, the golden ratio is not fixed once and for all, but can be applied in different ways in each individual case, giving the dentist more freedom to create a smile that suits the person who will wear it.
A magazine smile
As we know, the canons of beauty are not always set according to rational parameters or mathematical proportions. Worlds such as fashion also play a very important role in what we call beauty, with magazine photography playing an important role in the formation of the cultural conception of the 'beautiful'.
Vogue or Vanity Fair, among others, have strict parameters when it comes to putting a smile on the cover, and yes, what they look for has a lot to do with what we consider a perfect smile.
Photoshop aside, some notes on the subject reveal that the smile sought after by leading magazines has the following features: symmetrical lips and a mouth width that does not usually exceed half of the face. When gums are shown when smiling, only the upper gums should be visible and they should look perfectly healthy and show no more than 2-3 mm below the lip line. Of course, the teeth should have no traces of modification, veneers or restorations. In addition, the upper incisors should predominate, with the lower teeth barely showing, which should be covered by the upper teeth. Finally, the white should be natural but immaculate.
What about personality?
Many believe that a perfect smile goes far beyond a cold bio-metric calculation, and that the best dentists are those who are able to add to a smile, not only the physical features of its owner, but his or her personality itself. A very special process, the search for beauty, which usually ends up being more related to feeling good about ourselves than to looking good for everyone.