06 May The Perception of Healthy Smiles
Most people like to believe that we don’t judge books by their covers and that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, a Kelton Perception Study shows that our inner cynical, ego-driven self is more prominent than most of us would like to admit. Perhaps it’s just an evolutionary adaption that causes us to be this way, but whatever the reason it is quite evident that those of us with nicer, straighter, and whiter teeth are perceived in a much more positive light overall.
You may be telling yourself as you subconsciously examine your teeth with your tongue, “There are plenty of other factors that are way more important than my teeth. This is silly.” You’re correct in assuming your intelligence, swanky accessories, and wicked guitar shredding abilities will go a long way to attract a potential mate or impress your coworkers. However, still 73% of Americans surveyed are more likely to trust a nice smile over a nice outfit, good job, or impressive car.
Not only will a crooked or unpleasant smile cause you to be trusted less by your peers, it can even cause you to be handicapped in your search for love. Thirty-eight percent of Americans would considered calling off the second date with someone because of their unattractive smile, that’s even more than the number who would ditch someone because they lived with their parents (23%)!
Let’s move on from these numbers and percentages. We all know that an attractive smile is important. So unless you’re going to be living as a hermit in the wilderness, you should probably pay a lot of attention to keeping your smile as pristine as possible. And even if you could care less how you are perceived, healthy teeth are an important part of a healthy life so you should still venture down from the mountains at least a couple times a year for your dental checkups!
Image used under creative commons license – commercial use (05/05/2014) Sean McGrath (Flickr)