New research suggests it can! In a new study published in Nature Scientific Reports, they find that objective characteristics of the smile influence self-perception of smile attractiveness. It’s been long known that facial expressions play a leading role in human interactions. Smiles provide signaling information of emotion and create social perceptions of an individuals’ physical and personality traits. Further, smiling increases socially perceived attractiveness and is considered a signal of trustworthiness and intelligence. This study sought to investigate the effect of smile dimensions on ratings of self-perceived smile attractiveness in 613 young adults using 3D facial imaging. The study found significant effect of proportional smile width (ratio of smile width to facial width) on self-perceived smile attractiveness. In fact, for every 10% increase in proportional smile width, self-perceived attractiveness ratings increased by 10.26%. If your smile isn’t sending the public image you want, Olson Orthodontics can help!