Would you date someone with a wonky smile? How about a missing tooth?

While most people would agree that appearances aren't everything, with the rise of online dating it's now easier than ever to swipe 'yes' or 'no' based on a cursory glance at a person's profile picture.

And it seems we're becoming pickier than ever, rejecting potential love matches simply because their teeth aren't up to scratch.

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Would you swipe right? Londoner Elspeth Healy, 29, took part in a social experiment to see whether she would be more successful with gappy teeth (right) or a perfect smile (left)

A social experiment set out to see if having bad teeth was a deal breaker when it comes to online dating - and found that singletons with a perfect smile received a staggering 60 per cent more messages than their gap-toothed counterparts.

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Using the popular dating app Plenty of Fish, two real-life singletons - marketing executive Elspeth Healy, 29 and builder Darren Bird, 35, both from London - each created two separate dating accounts.

Both sets of accounts had identical settings - likes, friends, and almost exactly the same photographs. 

A picture of Elspeth on a beach (left) was edited to give her a missing tooth (right). The social experiment set out to see if having bad teeth was a deal breaker when it comes to dating

The only difference was that one account featured the prospective dater with discoloured and missing teeth; while the matching profile had a 'perfect' smile.

Over the course of one week, 1,500 men and women were targeted – or 'liked' as potential dates – by Elspeth and Darren.

Elspeth's 'perfect teeth' profile receives 60 per cent more messages than her yellow-toothed counterpart, with 240 messages pouring in from 1,000 matches over the course of one week.

And shockingly, four men ‘un-matched’ from the poorly-toothed female profile altogether. It included one message from a man named Niko, who told her: 'Sorry miss you not my type (sic.).' 

An original picture of builder Darren Bird, 35. The survey found that singletons with a perfect smile received up to 60 per cent fewer messages than their gappy-toothed counterparts

Darren had less luck with his 'bad teeth' profile, pictured. Using the popular dating app Plenty of Fish, the two guinea pigs each created two separate dating accounts

Some singletons failed to spot Elspeth's missing tooth (right) until after they had clicked on her profile. Both sets of accounts had identical settings - such as likes, friends and location

But female respondents were just as culpable; Darren's profiles not only produced similar results, but also highlighted the difference between how men and women use dating apps.

Darren's 'bad teeth' profile only had two matches over the course of one week, while his 'good teeth' profile received just 19 matches. 

Dr Bruno Silva, founder of Brighton Implant Clinic, who carried out the research, commented: 'We knew teeth mattered to the dating world but we didn't realise by how much until now. 

Spot the difference! The only difference was that one account featured the prospective dater with discoloured and missing teeth (right); and the matching profile had perfect teeth (left)

'This social experiment really highlights how much a missing tooth can affect someone's chances in the dating world.'

The clinic also ran a survey which found that 67 per cent of people would be put off a second date if the other person had a missing tooth. 

Around 74 per cent of all adults have had to have a tooth extracted, they found, while 48 per cent of the population say they are unhappy with their teeth.

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