Preceded by five singles—"Don't Need You", "Whip Cracker", "The Other Black Dog", "Gold Chains", and "Drown" (featuring Kirin J. Callinan)—Smiling with No Teeth debuted at number 27 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

[14] Steven Loftin of The Line of Best Fit said, "Owusu's debut offering not only manages to deftly balance style with substance, but does so with a jubilance that gives as much reason to curl up your own most toothy grin".

[18] Simone Ziaziaris of The Sydney Morning Herald said, "via forays into multiple musical genres, Smiling with No Teeth creates a space both for Owusu to express his own personal experiences, and for others to question nuanced complexities".

[10] Cyclone Wehner of NME said, "with Smiling With No Teeth, Genesis Owusu has delivered a riveting album that underscores the power of self-knowledge, perspective and art – one that should be cranked loud".

[16] Rachel Brodsky of The Independent said, "with strong, clear-eyed subtext, overlaid by compositions that touch on every influence from TV on the Radio to Prince, Childish Gambino and Radiohead, Smiling With No Teeth is not so much an album as it is a memoir".