For many health travelers who arrive in Costa Rica for the purpose of dental tourism, the ultimate goal is to receive treatments that will restore their smile as well as their sex appeal.

At leading dental tourism practices such as the Flikier Institute of Dental Rehabilitation, patients often tell stories about how the state of their dentition prevents them from smiling, a condition that can have profound negative effects on the self esteem and human psyche.

In many cases, dental tourists in Costa Rica are concerned that their inability to smile takes away from their overall sex appeal. Can a beaming smile make someone more sexually appealing to others? The answer is not always yes.

It so happens that smiling has more cultural than primal connotations. For example, in Japanese culture, smiling is a gesture that may accompany confusion, embarrassment or the desire to mask other feelings. In many Western cultures, on the other hand, being able to smile denotes individual confidence and a sense of freedom, two psychological aspects that can be sexually appealing.

In general, female smiles are more sexually appealing to males because they increase the attraction quotient; however, a mischievous smile that does not part the lips to expose the teeth can prove irresistible to some men.

Smiling men are not necessarily sexy to women. According to a 2011 study by the University of British Columbia:

Women find men less attractive when they smile compared to when they take on swaggering or brooding poses. [Researchers suggested that] smiling men were judged to be more feminine and less dominant.

It should be noted that the study explored first impressions and did not ask whether people thought the people in the photos would make a partner or spouse, something that many women find sexy of its own accord.

In the end, although the dental professionals at the Flikier Institute in Costa Rica share their patients’ concerns about aesthetics, it is important to note that the ultimate goal is always to restore oral health.