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Can a new smile make you appear more successful and intelligent?
 
September 15, 2006 – Madison, WI – Previous consumer studies have proved that a beautiful smile will make you more attractive. But, according to research conducted by Beall Research & Training of Chicago, a new smile will make you appear more intelligent, interesting, successful and wealthy to others as well.
 

 

Dr. Anne Beall, a social psychologist and market research professional, carried out the independent study on behalf of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD). Pictures of eight individuals were shown to 528 Americans, a statistically valid cross-section of the population. The respondents were asked to quickly judge the eight people according to how attractive, intelligent, happy, successful in their career, friendly, interesting, kind, wealthy, popular with the opposite sex, and sensitive to other people they were.
 

 
Two sets of eight photos called "set A" and "set B" were created.  Each set showed four individual patients before undergoing cosmetic dentistry, and four after treatment was completed.  Half the respondents viewed set A, the other half set B. The eight subjects in each set were evenly divided by gender. Two had mild improvements to their smiles through cosmetic dentistry, two had moderate improvements, and four had major improvements. None, however, had visibly rotten teeth, missing teeth or catastrophically bad dental health in the "before treatment" shots.
Respondents were not told that they were looking at dentistry, but were asked to make snap judgments rating each person for the ten characteristics, on a scale of one to ten, with “one” being “not at all,” and “ten” being “extremely.”
 
The results indicated that an attractive smile does have broad ranging benefits:
 
Characteristic Average
"Before" rating
"After" rating
Increase
Attractive
4.6
5.9
1.3
Intelligent
5.9
6.5
.6
Happy
6.2
6.8
.4
Successful in their career
5.8
6.7
.9
Friendly
6.3
6.8
.5
Interesting
5.4
6.1
.7
Kind
6.0
6.4
.4
Wealthy
4.9
5.9
1.0
Popular with the opposite sex
5.0
6.2
1.2
Sensitive to other people
5.6
6.1
.5
 
While the change was most dramatic for "Attractive", "Popular with the opposite sex", "Wealthy" and "Successful in their career", the change was statistically significant in all areas.
 
“Based on a lot of interaction with happy patients, we were expecting this type of difference in attractiveness and popularity with the opposite sex,” said local AACD member dentist Dr. Mark Mann, “but to have large gains in how successful, intelligent, interesting and wealthy patients appeared after cosmetic dentistry caught even us by surprise. We’ve been telling people that a beautiful smile was a great investment in their futures. Now we have independent published evidence.”
 
The full survey results by Beall Research can be viewed on the AACD website at www.aacd.com.
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The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry
The AACD is the world’s largest cosmetic dental organization dedicated to advancing excellence in the art and science of cosmetic dentistry. As with any dental procedure, the AACD recommends consumers consult with their dentist before undergoing any cosmetic dental treatment.
 
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