Now more than ever, we are obsessing over our appearance. We stare at our thumbnails on virtual meetings, we cull through our photo libraries to find the perfect pic to post on socials, and we stress about presenting both “polished and professional” and “all natural/I woke up like this.” In addition, we are exposed to an onslaught of marketing from cosmetics companies, wellness brands, influencers, pharmaceutical companies, and others about products and services that promise to correct our flaws. 

There is certainly value in self-improvement and looking your best. As a dentist, I find greatest professional satisfaction when my patients feel good about their mouth’s health, function, and esthetics (cosmetic appearance). As an oral health care professional, it is my role to provide my patients the information and services they need to achieve their oral health goals. For many, those goals include a particular cosmetic appearance. 

There is no universally agreed-upon best look for a person’s facial esthetics. These days, models for the top fashion houses have a wide variety in their mouths: wide-open diastemas (gaps between teeth), very full or very thin lips, unusual pigmentation of the lips or gums, and variation in the fullness of their smiles. 

Hollywood, on the other hand, practically has a playbook for how a person’s teeth should look to achieve universal appeal. Sometimes this is because of digital editing: CGI has made it possible to change the shape or brightness of an actor’s teeth post-production. Other times, it is because there are a small number of dentists serving Hollywood’s rich and powerful, and these “celebrity dentists” have a signature look that has come to be accepted as ideal by members of that community. In turn, the public watches the movies or sees the red carpet looks and assumes that their celebrity icon’s teeth are the ideal standard. This could not be further from the truth. 

For those in the public eye, there is nothing wrong with getting a lot of dental work done in order to develop or maintain a particular look. When I counsel my patients on this, however, I stress how much risk, cost, and responsibility they take on if choosing similar significant cosmetic interventions. 

Any time a tooth is worked on, it greatly increases the chance that the same tooth will need to be worked on again. Veneers and crowns can break or fall off. Gums may recede around the edges of restorations, resulting in color disharmony. Cavities and gum disease are more likely to occur on restored teeth. Certain foods and chewing patterns need to be avoided. 

Fortunately, we are living in an era with very sophisticated minimally invasive dentistry. Straight teeth are absolutely easier to keep clean than crooked or crowded teeth, and they have less risk of developing cavities and gum disease. A well-balanced bite reduces the odds of fracturing teeth or developing temporomandibular joint (TMJ) issues. Rather than getting crowns or veneers to line the teeth up, orthodontics can be used to reposition the teeth in the correct place without having to touch a drill. Many general dentists, myself included, are able to provide orthodontic services at their office to make this care more accessible. 

Missing teeth can be replaced more predictably than ever. Rather than having to shave off the outer layer of the two teeth adjacent to a missing tooth to make a bridge, dental implants can replace teeth in the most lifelike and natural way without touching the other teeth. Implants also have a better long-term prognosis because they are much easier to keep clean than bridges. 

Teeth can be whitened naturally as well. Rather than having veneers or composite bonding cover the fronts of teeth to change their shade, in-office or at-home whitening can achieve excellent results with minimal side effects or hassle, while also costing significantly less. 

When these treatment modalities are combined as appropriate, we can often achieve a dramatic smile transformation that is able to be maintained for a lifetime. When it comes to teeth as well as other areas of life, it’s important to remember that celebrity isn’t everything.