Page 21 - Amazing Smiles

Boat Shape Factors that Determine How Your Smile Looks
Oval Shape
Banana Shape Now that we have a basic understanding of
what a tooth is, where it is and what its parts are
figure 9 called, let’s look at the overall smile. (figure 9)
Lip High On One Side
The lips determine the general shape of the
figure 10 mouth when a smile is formed. Some smiles have
the shape of a boat, and others look like an oval
or a banana. No matter how the teeth are
arranged or changed, the lips are the overall cur-
tain that frames the teeth and influences the look
of a smile. So many times, patients produce
pictures, saying, “I want to look like him/her.” The
reality is that they can’t. The problem is that these
patients do not understand that they have com-
pletely different shaped lips and mouths. Unless
lips, shapes of mouths or arch forms are noted
and discussed at the beginning of the consultation
with the cosmetic dentist, the patient may never
be satisfied. The end result will not meet his/her
expectations. And they will never know why.

Lips can also be crooked on one side of the
midline of the face and normal on the other.
When lips are higher on one side of the midline
than on the other, the teeth on the side with the
higher lipline will appear larger than the teeth on
the other side because more tooth structure
shows when the lip is higher. (figure 10)

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