Dating online? Hearing crickets? Never landing a second date? That elusive love connection might be because of your teeth. The online dating game is all about your appearance. Sure, you might be deemed compatible with someone because of your age, interests, or location, but it’s your looks that create the initial attraction. And if your teeth are unappealing or in great disrepair, your possibilities for finding love dwindle dramatically.

Don’t Fake a Good Smile

Perhaps you’re successfully connecting with potential mates online but you can’t seem to make it past the first date. Have you stopped to consider your teeth? With photo editing apps, it’s easy to doctor a photo to make your teeth look whiter (your waist look slimmer, your hair look thicker, you get the idea). Play around too much with fancy technology and you’ll turn yourself into the very best version of yourself – who doesn’t exist. And, never doubt it, the person you’re meeting for drinks or dinner will notice – immediately.
You can’t disguise a bad smile. Even if you post undoctored photos of yourself, only displaying pics with a close-mouthed smile or straight faced will have other online daters wondering what it is you have to hide, whether physically or otherwise.
Here’s the thing about teeth – if you don’t take good care of them, or if they’re in very rough shape, a potential match will judge you on this characteristic. They’ll wonder what else in your life you’re not tending to properly if you can’t even take care of your own teeth. Even worse, if you lie through omission about the state of your teeth, the all-important trust between two people is already broken.
Wouldn’t it just be easier to fix your smile?

When It Comes to Love, the Condition of Your Teeth Matter

Don’t believe that your teeth can possibly matter this much? Here’s some proof. Match.com commissioned a survey about what men and women rate as the most important characteristics when judging a potential date. Neither occupation nor income nor car nor hairstyle came in at the top of the list. The number one characteristic when judging a possible date – named by both men (58 percent) and women (71 percent) – is a person’s teeth. More than grammar, hair, and clothes, a person’s chompers are of the utmost importance.
“Good teeth are a real indication of your health – how much you drink, smoke, what you’re eating,” says Match.com adviser and biological anthropologist Helen Fisher. And, let’s face it: Who wants to even think about kissing someone who has rotten teeth?

Makeover Your Smile in the Name of Love

Whatever sort of disrepair your teeth are in, take heart – the problem can be fixed. If you’re missing teeth, dental implants are a permanent solution that will fill the holes in your smile, rebuild the foundation of your smile, preventing you from developing a sagging appearance.
If you have seriously stained enamel from a java addiction, a love of wine, a long-gone smoking habit, or any other reason, professional teeth whitening can brighten your smile. And when your dentist confirms that even teeth whitening can’t reverse built-in stains, it’s time to consider one of the most popular cosmetic dentistry options: porcelain veneers. All those Hollywood smiles you covet? Most of them are not natural, but they certainly do look real with life-altering veneers.
And if you have always wanted straight teeth but feel you’re far past the age when being a “metal mouth” is acceptable, Invisalign has revolutionized orthodontics, particularly for dating adults who want to speak and eat with their love connection without worrying about brackets and wires.
Ready to find love? Put your smile first, boost your confidence, take new photos for your online dating profile, and get ready to put your best teeth forward. Make an appointment for your consultation with Dr. John Moore of Cosmetic Dental Associates in San Antonio, Texas.