I want PERFECT TEETH! What is ideal?

Jake Gyllenhaal 's 2 front teeth are very square (no rounded edges). The teeth next to the front ones (lateral incisors) are small and the one on his right side is higher than the left side. While not ideal, he still looks good in my book!

There is a gold standard that all orthodontists try to follow when it comes to the perfect teeth! Read below to find out more.

1) Shape of the teeth - Teeth can be more triangular shaped or rectangular shaped. The more rectangular shaped teeth are preferred. However, they can't be too rectangular since then they look like horse teeth - the edges around the teeth should be rounded and curved.

2) Proportions - The 2 front teeth should be rectangular in shape and not square. Teeth should be taller in height than in width, giving them a rectangular shape. For all you math majors out there, the proportion is 1.0mm tall : 0.8mm wide.

The 2 teeth on either side of the front teeth (called lateral incisors) should be smaller and about 80% the width of the 2 front teeth. A common problem is to have small or "peg shaped" lateral incisors. Look at this picture below and how small the side teeth are compared to the 2 front teeth. The "after" picture shows how the size was fixed with veneers.

3) Edges - Some patients want all of the front teeth to line up in one straight line but this is not esthetic! The 2 lateral incisors should be half a millimeter higher than the 2 front teeth. The canine teeth should not be too pointy since then people don't like that they look like vampires! The canine teeth should be at the same level as the 2 front teeth.

The edges of all the teeth should be smooth. See how in this picture, the edges are a bit bumpy. Your orthodontist can fix this by a little "manicuring" and smoothing out the edges of the teeth to make them more even.

4) Gum line - The gums around the front teeth should look like this picture. Sometimes, there are uneven gum lines and it doesn't look good when a person smiles.

Keep in mind, teeth have normal variations and that's what makes us unique! That's all folks!