Everyone wants to live up to the mantra of not judging a book by its cover, but no one can deny that they do plenty of cover judging. According to a new study from the makers of Invisalign and Kelton research, straight teeth is a huge factor in first impression assumptions.
Kelton presented images of people with varying smiles and teeth to a sample of 1,047 Americans and then asked the participants to give their honest opinions about the people in the images. The research participants were completely unaware that they were asked to compare straight and crooked teeth. The results were loud and clear: Americans typically assume that people with straight teeth are happier, healthier, and more successful professionally than those with crooked teeth.
Nearly one-third of the participants said that one’s teeth is the first feature they notice with new people. Twenty-four percent said that one’s teeth is the feature they remember the most after meeting someone.
In addition, the research unearthed the following assumption statistics:
- People with straight teeth are 45% more likely to get a job than those with crooked teeth.
- People with straight teeth are 58% more likely to be professionally successful.
- People with straight teeth are 58% more likely to be wealthy.
- People with straight teeth are 57% more likely to get a date based on their picture alone.
- Two out of five respondents said they would not go on a second date with someone with crooked teeth.
- People with straight teeth are 21% more likely to be seen as happy.
- People with straight teeth are 47% more likely to be seen as healthy.
- People with straight teeth are 38% more likely to be perceived as smart.
It may not sound exactly fair, but the reality is, first impressions do make a large impact on people when meeting someone for the first time. The good thing is that fixing crooked teeth is very easy to do, and there are more options now than there used to be. Instead of resigning yourself to traditional braces, talk to your dentist about being a candidate for Invisalign or seeing if porcelain veneers would work for your smile. You may be surprised at your options.