Last week, I collected 85 photos of teeth from iStockPhoto and began sorting them into categories. My topic is: How to define a good set of teeth?

My initial approach was to classify the images by two dimensions: color and the number of visible teeth. I imagined a chart with the horizontal axis representing the number of teeth and the vertical axis showing color variations.Foucault (1989) points out, classification systems often reveal and shape the way we think; my approach to categorizing and simplifying these teeth similarly reflects cultural awareness of “beauty” I’ve internalized.

Then, I filtered out all photos that included any “decorations” on the teeth, such as braces, dental pins, and prosthetics, as these additions alter the natural appearance of the teeth. This process led me to reflect on our perception of “natural” versus “enhanced” teeth, reminding me of how cultural beauty standards shape our dental choices. In the pursuit of an “ideal” smile, the line between function and decoration often blurs.

Using Photoshop, I extracted and simplified the shapes of the teeth, reducing them to flat, graphic outlines. Interestingly, teeth that are typically considered “straight” appeared uneven and rough in this simplified form, while some misaligned teeth looked surprisingly smooth and regular. In this particular image, I selected shapes with softer edges.

This exercise revealed an intriguing contradiction: teeth we see as “perfectly straight” often appear jagged and irregular in their basic form, while slightly misaligned teeth can create a pleasing sense of flow and balance. This realization made me question our standards for beauty and symmetry. Perhaps our ideals of “straight” or “perfect” teeth are more influenced by societal norms than by true aesthetic harmony.

In Imagined Communities, Benedict Anderson（2006） discusses how cultural markers like museums and maps often “freeze” certain values and concepts in collective memory. Similarly, my treatment of these teeth gives these shapes a “museum-like” quality, removing them from their natural context and assigning them new symbolic meaning. Perhaps, in our pursuit of perfect alignment, we overlook the unique character and natural elegance of subtly irregular teeth, suggesting that the essence of beauty lies not in rigid standards, but in the organic variations that make us unique.

Next I would like to make an interactive website with the graphics I have obtained, allowing my viewers to pick or define what makes a good set of teeth in a more flat graphic, which can be accessed by clicking on the image to get the original picture of the teeth.

References

Anderson, B. (2006) Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Revised ed. London: Verso.

Foucault, M. (1989) The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences. London: Routledge.

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Thanks for watching~

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