As we get older, we should be able to love our smiles even more than in our youth, when we thought we had more to smile about. One appreciates the pleasure of smiling with friends and family, and if you grin at someone, nine times out of ten, they smile back. They might even chat to you too!
It’s been shown that smiling triggers the brain to release neuropeptides (which help reduce stress), endorphins (which are involved in pain relief) and serotonin (which acts as an antidepressant). It also increases your oxytocin levels, and this helps with social bonding, calmness and can even help reduce blood pressure. They say “fake it until you make it” and that’s true of smiling. Even if it’s not a ‘real’ smile, you’ll still get a lot of the benefit.
But what happens if you don’t like the smile you’ve got? Well, obviously, visit your dentist and tell them! Lots of patients are embarrassed or ashamed about talking about appearance, but dentists love talking about teeth. It’s what we do all day long, so it’s just a job for us, and fixing smiles is usually one of the nicest bits of practising dentistry. There are lots of easy fixes, like anterior bonding, cleaning, orthodontics and cosmetic treatments, and techniques with veneers, crowns and many more, which form part of a whole range of things that can be done so that you are more confident to smile. Just ask, and you’ll be surprised how much can be done.
The most important thing, however, is to make sure your mouth is healthy.
There are very 4 simple rules to this:
- Use an electric toothbrush. Don’t use it like a manual one, scrubbing aggressively and randomly round the mouth. Gently but firmly push the bristles along the gum line one tooth after another from left to right, inside and out. Get the bristles to go in between the teeth. Don’t rush, and push a little bit harder than you think. You won’t cause recession as long as you’re not scrubbing backwards and forwards.
- Use an interdental cleaning brush every day. So important. Can’t stress this enough. If you’re exhausted at night and too tired, do it lunchtime everyday instead.
- Use a fluoride toothpaste. Fluoride genuinely reduces the effects of decay, so don’t be fooled into thinking it’s an optional extra, and the ‘healthy choice’ is a no-fluoride paste. It really isn’t. You’ll get holes.
- Put your glasses on and brush looking in the mirror, so you can see what you’re doing! Sounds like a no-brainer, but you’d be amazed at how many people never look in the mirror when they brush their teeth. If you don’t like what you see, follow the earlier advice, and talk to your dentist or hygienist.
It’s that simple.
Don’t worry about mouthwashes, fancy gadgets, weird ingredients in toothpaste, and so on. If you’ve brushed so that your teeth feel smooth, you’re good to go out and grin away.
So go on, I dare you. Smile at everyone you see tomorrow and see how the day gets better.