Female Smiles

You likely did not know that female smiles are different from male smiles. Females' upper jaws grow down and forward more than in men; this sexual growth difference makes the usual attractive feminine smile, one that is more toothy. Also, the front two teeth on women are usually very dominate and ladies usually have teeth that are more rounded and softer in their appearance. The two front teeth should be identical twins in length and width. The two side teeth can be wide on one side and narrow on the other. If you ever look closely to a person's face you'll notice there's usually a wide side and a narrow side. So matching teeth to that variation is also very important.

Mary, a patient who came to see Dr. LuBovich. she said, "Dr. L., I am unhappy with the appearance of my upper front crowns. This is the second set of crowns the laboratory has made for my dentist, and I don't like either set of crowns. She then said: "Can you help me design a smile I will be happy with?" We said--"Yes."

Look at the picture of Mary's upper front teeth; why did she not like them? Mary said, "They do not fit my face; I had more of a smile before my teeth were crowned, I do not have a smile anymore." What was she saying? She was telling Dr. LuBovich she needed to help in the design of her crowns or she would never be happy. As it turned out, the previous crowns were too short, the central incisors were not identical twins, the crowns were not rounded enough for Mary, and the bottom edge of spaces between the teeth were not cut up high enough.

The main event in the makeover of Mary's new smile was designing her smile in wax. Mary helped create her own wax pattern. Look at how the central incisor (middle teeth) are nearly identical twins. They are rounded and complement her face and pupils. The pattern has a positive cure which curves downward. Sometimes an upward curve is appropriate. Sometimes a straight line is desirable; however, on most women, a positive smile is usually the best.

Mary's crowns were made following the pattern that she helped design. Mary also wanted whiter than average teeth. She said, "I am an actress, dancer and model, I want white teeth."

We have since bleached and crowned many other of Mary's lower teeth. Mary also said, "I will practice in the mirror, my smile and you will never see my lower darker teeth in photographs". She was right, I have seen Mary out in Nashville and she has a gorgeous smile! Of course she is happy, she helped design the crowns and her smile was made Mary's way.