Dating: Do Teeth Matter?

[Dastuross]

Bad teeth as in super unhealthy teeth? sorta, but not really matters to me. but don't get me wrong i can't stand people who use whitestrips to get their teeth white, WHY?!?! teeth aren't naturally white in the first place.

[Uproot]

Assuming ur not from the 3rd world, so ur country has a dentist and dental care, bad teeth can only have 3 causes:

1. Hygiëne. Would you date someone with poor hygiene?
2. Mental instability (afraid of dentist), in which case they probably have alot more shit going on.
3. Disease / genetics. In which case it's totally not their fault but its still a turnoff for me.

At least someone mentioned it, several diseases and genetic abnormalities weaken and break down the enamel and cause teeth to rot away prematurely, even if you brush regularly. Every person who likes to assume "Oh he's lazy can't brush his teeth." Really needs to open their point of view to the world. If you don't like it be honest about it and say "Your teeth are creepy and ugly" and not make a bullshit excuse that doesn't even pertain to the people you're judging.

[Collegeguy]

Bad teeth as in super unhealthy teeth? sorta, but not really matters to me. but don't get me wrong i can't stand people who use whitestrips to get their teeth white, WHY?!?! teeth aren't naturally white in the first place.

Teeth aren't naturally white?

[Forgettable]

As long as they're not yellow or black or missing and mostly in the right place, I don't mind.

[taheen74]

Up to you. I think bad teeth is kind of a sign of being lazy and not taking care of yourself. If you don't brush often enough, do you wash often enough? Having low down gums, or high up lips or whatever so you have a gummy smile is... personal preference really. Some people don't like it, some people do. If you like it, then don't worry about it.

There are many medical causes for bad teeth.

Bad teeth can also be hereditary- it runs in my family unfortunately.

http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/tc/...topic-overview

http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/hea...cavities-myths

[Deleted]

There are many medical causes for bad teeth.

Bad teeth can also be hereditary- it runs in my family unfortunately.

http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/tc/...topic-overview

http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/hea...cavities-myths

You have access to a dentist don't you? Get a check up every 6 months and fix problems before or as soon as they appear, unless you miss checkups they should not have time to decay.

[Deleted]

I can understand why it would put someone off, just like everything, but it's not something that defines a person... or at least, it doesn't always.

I missed out on the chance to get braces when I was younger. God forbid wearing them now, I'd be a laughing stock. The result of which is that the middle 4 teeth on my bottom row are crooked, all the same size but my front two are pushed forward a few mm and stick out a bit.

This I can get over. If someone has crooked teeth I can get over it...

But it's the other aspects that personally put me off, those related to poor oral hygiene. I'm not saying that I won't date someone who doesn't have pearly white teeth, but there extremes that I see all too often and seeing someone with bad breath and yellow/black teeth to follow it up with and that to me is very of putting. It's the notion that they don't care about personal hygiene more-so than anything else.

[Puupi]

I admit that I haven't been to dentist for almost 15 years. I'm scared of dentists, got lots of bad memories and experiences from dentistry when I was a kid. I had braces which broke up several times, once my dad had to use power tools to fix my braces when they broke up during a trip in Lapland. Also my jaw lost all sensation due to a failed anesthesia (is it the right word for it, had to use dictionary but I thought anesthesia is only the thing when they knock you out), the dentist pushed the needle too deep and my jaw was gone for a year. I won't go to dentist until I have to I'm ashamed of not going to see a dentist, but still I just can't force myself to go there.

PS. My teeth look alright, I brush them twice a day - they are not white, but not yellow either.

[Deleted]

I have pretty decent teeth now i think about it, the dental system in the U.K looked after me pretty well

When i had my tooth chipped they made it look good as new, they don't offer whitening treatment unless it's pertinent to your mental well being though, or at least that's what they told my mother when she asked (Her teeth, are fucking awful)

Would it bother me if the persons teeth aren't pearly white?

Nah.

Would it bother me if they don't brush for a week at times and have various crooked and broken teeth, fuck yes it would.

[Kraenen]

he's gonna eat you out with those teeth some day so i'd think it would be important

[Deleted]

I have pretty decent teeth now i think about it, the dental system in the U.K looked after me pretty well

When i had my tooth chipped they made it look good as new, they don't offer whitening treatment unless it's pertinent to your mental well being though, or at least that's what they told my mother when she asked (Her teeth, are fucking awful)

Not sure if it's the same everywhere, but I get checkups on the NHS every 6 months, and while they don't do whitening, they will polish and like, give them a "dentist clean" each time, which keeps them sparkley :-) They also do tooth-coloured fillings if you need fillings, I think, though I'm not sure if that's the case everywhere.

[Deleted]

Not sure if it's the same everywhere, but I get checkups on the NHS every 6 months, and while they don't do whitening, they will polish and like, give them a "dentist clean" each time, which keeps them sparkley :-) They also do tooth-coloured fillings if you need fillings, I think, though I'm not sure if that's the case everywhere.

It's gotten to the point of her being flat out declined by potential NHS dentists, her teeth need that much work, it's pretty shitty but that's the main downfall of the system.

You have to apply to NHS dentists and they can decline a person for anything almost...

She'd need around 2-3k of work to straighten, repair, and whiten with the host of chips/ fillings and half broken teeth removed.

[Feel The Power]

You have access to a dentist don't you? Get a check up every 6 months and fix problems before or as soon as they appear, unless you miss checkups they should not have time to decay.

Unless they are an average American. It's an absolute blessing to get some kind of dental coverage included with your work's health insurance plan, and even then much of the time not very much is covered by the dental insurance plan. Same with getting any kind of coverage for an eye doctor, if you're lucky you may only have to pay 60% for glasses and get some money off an eye exam once a year. So, if you were born with a problem like the OP mentioned, something like having really small stupid teeth, you're looking at thousands upon thousands of dollars to fix such a problem (if that specific problem would even be fixable). Oh, plus you get the added bonus of missing days of work and not being paid while you pay thru the ass to get the dental work done. A check up every 6 months? The average American worker does not have money for this.

[Deleted]

It is a stupid out dated stereotype mostly spread about by people that have never left their own countries.

lol poland ;-/

[saucywench]

Are you 13?

You decide whether it matters for yourself. You already did say the rest of him is quite attractive. And it sounds like you haven't even met him yet..

While it may seem immature, it is a valid question and an innate human reaction/convention, people will always judge on sight and evaluate a persons appearance. Everyone does it.

[derpkitteh]

to me, as long as they aren't absolutely disgusting and they don't constantly have bad breath, it's all good. if we're kissing and i get the urge to puke, that's a no no.

[Deleted]

Teeth aren't naturally white?

I was talking with some dentist some time ago and he said that teeth color depending on bone color or something like that (I'm not good at this medical bollox)

So, many people can have naturally yellow teeth and there is nothing you can do about... But when you drink coffee, smoking or don't care about the hygiene at all you can multiple this effect by 100!

[Deleted]

i think they matter, but that will depend on each person.

for me it wouldn't matter if they were perfectly gleaming white, i can deal with a little yellow, thats not really from bad hygeine they just havn't had their teeth whitened. but once you get to the people who's teeth are bordering on brown/black, no thank you.

[Deleted]

Teeth aren't naturally white?

Nope, slightly off white is the natural colour, pure white is often the sign of constant bleaching and weakening of the tooth.

[madmanx]

A little natural yellowing is fine. I much prefer that to the scary Hollywood white.

Having really bad teeth is a sign of sloppiness or being lazy. Having insanely white teeth is a sigh of vanity and being shallow. I don't like either but lazy and sloppy is for sure better than shallow and vain. Few things in life are more unattractive than physical vanity, ironically.