Laughter and Aesthetic Analysis Part 2
In the evaluation of the smile, the facial photographs of the patient are taken. For this purpose, the patient is asked to close their lips and photographed in this way, then the normal lip position is photographed by asking the muscles around the mouth to move to a free position. In this position, a slight gap develops between the upper and lower lips. Only the upper front incisors should appear in this range. Their visible dimensions are 2-4 mm. Mouth breathing due to nasal congestion can cause this position constantly.
There are two main types of laughter; social laughter and emotional-pleasure laughter. During these two types of laughing, the anatomical structures in the laughing area are different. Social laughing is a static facial expression that is made optionally without forcing, mostly for greeting purposes. The upper lip is slightly contracted and displaced upwards, and sometimes a very small amount of gingiva can be observed. Emotional laughter is; stronger, sometimes in the form of laughter, is a form of expression in the face of a funny situation or happiness, it is done consciously. In the meantime, because the upper lip and lower lip are pulled too much, the upper and lower teeth and even the gums may be visible.
It is photographed again during the patient’s social laughter. In this smile, all of the anterior incisors and the upper gums become visible 1-2 mm.
During social laughing, all of the anterior incisors are visible, and the upper gums become 1-2 mm visible.
During emotional laughing, the upper gums become more visible in addition to social laughing.
During laughing, the line passing through both mouth corners and the line passing through both pupils should be parallel to each other.
laughing styles
We all have different laughing styles. This is determined by the defining features of the soft tissues during laughing. The muscle groups that dominate the determination of the lips and the corner of the mouth determine this.
There are three designated laughing styles
1. Cuspid laugh;
Laughing with the cuspid or corners of the mouth is the most common type of laughter in the society with a rate of 67%. The corners of the mouth first rise, open out, and the upper lip muscles contract and move upwards and continue with the appearance of the upper teeth.
2. Complex laughing; It is the least common laughing style with a rate of 2%. The upper and lower lips and the corner of the mouth muscles contract simultaneously and all the lower and upper teeth are seen in harmony.
3. Mona Lisa style laughing; It is the second most common laughing style with a rate of 31% in the society. Lip shapes look like a lozenge. First of all, the muscles that pull the upper lip up work and the anterior upper incisors appear, then the corners of the mouth move the lips up and out, but in this smile, the corners of the mouth do not move upwards as much as the cuspid smile.
While talking about the types of smiles, it is necessary to mention the gum smile (gummy smile) lastly. As the name suggests, the gingival smile is the smile line on the gingiva. In other words, while smiling, the gingival tissue appears much more than it should be.
Features of expressive and attractive smile in women
1. The front upper teeth should be visible.
2. The upper lip moves upwards during laughing.
3. When smiling, the lower teeth are invisible or appear slightly.
4. The area bounded by the lips during laughing is called the laughing area and the width of this area should be greater than its height.
5. Upper gums appear light. The rate of this changes with age.
6. A slight gap, defined as the “Buccal corridor”, should appear at the corners of the mouth while laughing.
7. The lower borders of the anterior upper teeth form an arc during laughing. This is called the laughing arc. This arc should be seen aesthetically while laughing and should be parallel to the lower lip.
The 1st picture shows the relationship between an ideal smile and the gums. In the 2nd picture, the visibility of the upper anterior teeth and gums is higher with smiling. In 3 pictures, the upper anterior teeth are not visible at all.
Laughing aesthetics and the effect of the nose
The tip of the nose moves downwards and backwards while laughing. This can be evaluated with normal and smiling photographs of the patient.
Apart from this, it causes changes in the shape of the nose with the contraction of many muscles, whether on the nose or on the face. For example, when smiling, the tip of the nose rotates significantly downward, the upper part of the nose tip becomes rounded, causing the nose to appear temporarily long. The movement and deformity of the tip of the nose while laughing depends on the depressor septi nasi muscle. In addition, during laughing, the muscle around the mouth, Orbicularis oris, shortens the upper lip, and it can reduce the projection of the tip of the nose with mimic movements.
Patients without smile expression
Although it is not common, it is a serious facial deformity. And the change in oral circumference that is normally observed during laughing in these patients is not observed in these patients. In these patients, the upper lips move up slightly during laughing and the upper anterior teeth are less or not visible. The emergence of this is due to the anatomy of the upper lip, anterior upper incisors and upper jaw, and soft tissues.
