Why Your Smile Looks Different in Every Reflection: The Optics and Psychology Behind the Contradiction
Your teeth look luminous in a candid photo yet somehow flat in the bathroom mirror—and you are not imagining it. The way a smile is captured depends on focal length, ambient lighting, angle, and the deeply personal biases we carry into every self-assessment. Understanding these distinctions is the first step toward making genuinely informed decisions about cosmetic dentistry.