Cosmetic Dentistry

Our perception of what our teeth look like can affect how we smile and may not communicate our true feelings if we’re trying to hide something.  Smiles communicate emotions. Smiles have been given names and meanings, but different authors interpret smiles and give their own perceived meanings. Here are some of the more well-known.

The Duchenne smile:  Duchenne was the son of French pirate and a neurologist.  He studied facial expressions and experimented with them.  His most famous was called the Duchenne smile, a goofy grin spreading from ear to ear and expressing great happiness and joy.

The Smirk:  Also known as a sarcastic smile, the mouth remains closed and only one side curves up.  This smile can have many meanings, but most often, it means the person smiling knows something you don’t know or they don’t believe what you are saying.  Sometimes it expresses arrogance and ego.

The Half Smile:  This smile means that someone isn’t really happy, but may be getting there.  This smile could occur when someone is daydreaming or feeling sad but trying to cheer up.  This smile shows only a slight opening of the mouth and may seem tentative.

The Embarrassed Smile:  If someone is embarrassed, they may tip their head down and to the left.  The cheeks may become rosy and they may try to hide a grin.  They will probably exhibit nervousness and the eyebrows may pinch together.

The Sad Smile:  When someone is sad, their mouth will show a slight closed grin.  Along with facial expressions, you can see that the person is sad or not in a good mood.  It may also be an attempt to mask true feelings.

How people perceive what our smile says is connected not only to the smile, but to facial expression, body language, and how well someone knows us.