# What's The Deal With Michael Phelps Teeth?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 21, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846 "2008-08-21T20:26:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@KRSOradio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRSOradio)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/1 "2008-08-21T20:26:36Z")
I was looking at photos of him and they seem to be OK, at least from a utility standpoint but something about it doesn’t look right
If you look at this pic
[Phelps Smile](http://tinyurl.com/phelpsteeth)
It seems like his smile is too big for his mouth
Is it just one of those things or is there an actual condition here?
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### Author:  [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2008, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/2 "2008-08-21T21:00:01Z")
That’s the smile of “I just got a million bucks for swimming and I can have sex with just about any woman I want.” Not too many of us have had that smile, and it’s impossible to fake.
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### Author:  [@KRSOradio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRSOradio)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/3 "2008-08-21T21:40:19Z")
Here’s another pic
[Phelps Teeth](http://i33.tinypic.com/10pv7g3.jpg)
You see it’s like his teeth move back but his smile is too big for them
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### Author:  [@ManiacMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ManiacMan)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2008, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/4 "2008-08-21T21:53:04Z")
Please post your normal-looking teeth so that we may have an indication of what a normal set of teeth look like.
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### Author:  [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2008, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/5 "2008-08-21T22:10:57Z")
This is just one symptom displayed by those who have a condition that makes them “not normal.” You probably have seen these people especially some youngsters or teenagers. You just thought they were “odd” “geeky” didn’t quite “fit in” and did things that were a little “weird” socially. Its difficult to diagnose, mostly because it hasn’t been recognized as a condition or disease yet. It’s mostly a spectrum of symptoms that can be organized into a syndrome (I propose “Sigene syndrome”). Dr’s will have to have a list of symptoms that they will check, and depending on the answers can effectively diagnose it. Some other symptoms include “being a scrawny, gangly kid” (measured by a ratio of waist size to arm length; poor eyesight; and less facial hair than normal… in addition to the funny looking teeth.
I would make a plea to help these poor souls who don’t quite fit in; but they grew up and run the world now.
(unfortunately, I wouldn’t be surprised if someday such a disease would be identified and those who have it become medicated)
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### Author:  [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2008, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/6 "2008-08-21T22:20:30Z")
You kinda wonder about Marfan Syndrome, though I think that usually causes longer legs instead of such a long torso. I think he might be part dolphin.
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### Author:  [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2008, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/7 "2008-08-21T22:58:02Z")
Isn’t he just a “type”? Normal as the next person, but fitting into a group that has a similar “bite physiology”? When I have seen him, I have noted a similar bite in Penny Marshall and Eddie Van Halen (see photo on back of Women and Children First - linking to photos using a BlackBerry is too big a pain).
But no big deal, really…
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### Author:  [@Soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2008, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/8 "2008-08-22T01:04:28Z")
[QUOTE=Sigene]
This is just one symptom displayed by those who have a condition that makes them “not normal.” You probably have seen these people especially some youngsters or teenagers. You just thought they were “odd” “geeky” didn’t quite “fit in” and did things that were a little “weird” socially. Its difficult to diagnose, mostly because it hasn’t been recognized as a condition or disease yet. It’s mostly a spectrum of symptoms that can be organized into a syndrome (I propose “Sigene syndrome”). Dr’s will have to have a list of symptoms that they will check, and depending on the answers can effectively diagnose it. Some other symptoms include “being a scrawny, gangly kid” (measured by a ratio of waist size to arm length; poor eyesight; and less facial hair than normal… in addition to the funny looking teeth.
I would make a plea to help these poor souls who don’t quite fit in; but they grew up and run the world now.
(unfortunately, I wouldn’t be surprised if someday such a disease would be identified and those who have it become medicated)
[/QUOTE]
This is something I spent a little bit of time studying in a criminal psychology class which might have a bit of relevance to your post:
> **[Minor physical anomalies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_physical_anomalies)**
>
> Minor physical anomalies (MPAs) are relatively minor (typically painless and, in themselves, harmless) congenital physical abnormalities consisting of features such as low-set ears, single transverse palmar crease, telecanthus, micrognathism, macrocephaly, hypotonia and furrowed tongue. While MPAs may have a genetic basis, they might also be caused by factors in the fetal environment: anoxia, bleeding, or infection. MPAs have been linked to disorders of pregnancy and are thought by some to be a m...
[http://www.hubin.org/about/projects/min\_phys\_anomalies\_en.html](http://www.hubin.org/about/projects/min_phys_anomalies_en.html)
I’m not suggesting that Phelps has schizophrenia, of course, only offering this as an interesting aside.
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### Author:  [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2008, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/9 "2008-08-22T01:15:04Z")
Just my 2 cents but it appears to be what I, and also another guy I know, both have. Basically the curve or radius of the gum line is tigher than the curve of the skull around the mouth (I’m not sure I’m describing it right. Our teeth aren’t out-of-line with each other, just the line is tightly curved. I’m not sure if its something that could have been changed with braces.
FWIW I have never had any problems with it; there are no resultant problems with teeth nor gums, nor is there a problem with speech, eating, drinking, breathing or any thing else usually associated with the mouth.
Phelps’ case appear to be just a bit more exagerated than mine or my friends’, but that could also be a resut of the camera, or perhaps an unusually wide and well earned grin.
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### Author:  [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2008, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/10 "2008-08-22T01:20:23Z")
In my experience - and that’s all it is, _my_ experience - guys who are very tall, and very thin, what you might call “gangly,” I guess, tend to be bigger jerks and have poorer social manners, a more rude and ill-humored attitude, and act like they have a chip on their shoulder, more than people with other body types. This is not true of huge guys that are 6’5 and 300 pounds, like football player types - in my experience it tends to be guys who are very tall, and very skinny. These guys also usually seem to have bigger noses, bigger ears, and bigger teeth.
I don’t know what it is, but I find that guys who fit this description, for some reason, are often surly and lacking in social skills.
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### Author:  [@KRSOradio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRSOradio)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2008, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/11 "2008-08-22T03:00:23Z")
I have seen several site say he has a bad underbite.
Is that it?
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### Author:  [@Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myron_Van_Horowitzski)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2008, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/12 "2008-08-22T20:56:26Z")
[QUOTE=UncleFred]
Just my 2 cents but it appears to be what I, and also another guy I know, both have. Basically the curve or radius of the gum line is tigher than the curve of the skull around the mouth (I’m not sure I’m describing it right. Our teeth aren’t out-of-line with each other, just the line is tightly curved. I’m not sure if its something that could have been changed with braces.
FWIW I have never had any problems with it; there are no resultant problems with teeth nor gums, nor is there a problem with speech, eating, drinking, breathing or any thing else usually associated with the mouth.
Phelps’ case appear to be just a bit more exagerated than mine or my friends’, but that could also be a resut of the camera, or perhaps an unusually wide and well earned grin.
[/QUOTE]
This. My teeth are the same way: the horseshoe shape of them is narrower than in most people. The only trouble I have is that my tongue therefore overlaps the side teeth a bit too much and I accidentally bite it a lot.
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### Author:  [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2008, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/13 "2008-08-22T23:24:38Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers]
In my experience - and that’s all it is, _my_ experience - guys who are very tall, and very thin, what you might call “gangly,” I guess, tend to be bigger jerks and have poorer social manners, a more rude and ill-humored attitude, and act like they have a chip on their shoulder, more than people with other body types. This is not true of huge guys that are 6’5 and 300 pounds, like football player types - in my experience it tends to be guys who are very tall, and very skinny. These guys also usually seem to have bigger noses, bigger ears, and bigger teeth.
I don’t know what it is, but I find that guys who fit this description, for some reason, are often surly and lacking in social skills.
[/QUOTE]
What does this have to do with the question in OP?
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### Author:  [@DrJames](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrJames)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2012, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/14 "2012-08-01T05:44:00Z")
The man needs orthodontics to expand his abnormally narrow arch and misaligned teeth. Mind you he gets laid plenty with his teeth as they are. It may between his swim schedule and being pleasured by as many females as he can take, he has not had time to address his dental issues. Perhaps as he ages and he lightens his swim schedule and gets laid less often, he will address his dental deficiencies.
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### Author:  [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2012, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/15 "2012-08-01T11:04:16Z")
> [@KRSOradio](#):
>
> I was looking at photos of him and they seem to be OK, at least from a utility standpoint but something about it doesn’t look right
_Nothing_ about his face looks right. He’s a remarkably ugly young man. I mean, yeah, he’s a super talented athlete and has an incredibly fit body, but none of his facial features fit together right and the end result is quite unattractive.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2012, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/16 "2012-08-01T11:20:54Z")
Dude sure can swim, though.
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### Author:  [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2012, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/17 "2012-08-01T11:34:00Z")
> [@KRSOradio](#):
>
> I was looking at photos of him and they seem to be OK, at least from a utility standpoint but something about it doesn’t look right
Looks like a significant overbite to me. Just like me.
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### Author:  [@Schrodinger\_s\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schrodinger_s_Dog)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2012, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/18 "2012-08-01T12:19:36Z")
One of the ways we can be sure Phelps is abnormal is in his low body fat percentage. Most of the men you see smiling have much more fat stored in their cheeks.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2012, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/19 "2012-08-01T13:13:10Z")
Just in case it’s not clear, this thread was started during the 2008 Olympics.
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### Author:  [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2012, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-michael-phelps-teeth/460846/20 "2012-08-01T13:22:33Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#):
>
> In my experience - and that’s all it is, _my_ experience - guys who are very tall, and very thin, what you might call “gangly,” I guess, tend to be bigger jerks and have poorer social manners, a more rude and ill-humored attitude, and act like they have a chip on their shoulder, more than people with other body types. This is not true of huge guys that are 6’5 and 300 pounds, like football player types - in my experience it tends to be guys who are very tall, and very skinny. These guys also usually seem to have bigger noses, bigger ears, and bigger teeth.
>
> I don’t know what it is, but I find that guys who fit this description, for some reason, are often surly and lacking in social skills.
:dubious: I am _not_ surly.
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