Your smile is one of your best assets, especially if your teeth and gums look and feel healthy. Caring for your smile at home in a consistent way can change your life for the better. Let’s have a look at why.
Boost your confidence
More than half of U.K workers believe having bad teeth negatively affects their confidence in the workplace and social situations. If you’re unhappy with your teeth, it’s very possible that you’re unlikely to want to smile in public, affecting your confidence and self worth. When you love your smile, you’re more likely to love yourself, which has a knock-on effect on your confidence.
Improve your mood
If your desire to smile subsides because of poor dental health and a bad smile aesthetic, it can actually affect your mood. When we smile, endorphins are released, which are the hormones responsible for happiness in the brain. When you repress a smile, these hormones become stalled, leaving you feeling low. One study suggests that smiling can help us recover from stress and reduce our heart rate. In making a conscious effort to be regimental with your everyday dental health and hygiene routine, you’ll feel like you have a smile you want to show off to the world.
Improve your career prospects
Research has shown that a healthy-looking smile is improves career prospects. A study of 2000 UK employees found that 67% consider a good smile to be an “important asset” in the workplace. Furthermore, 42% said they found people with healthy teeth more authoritative. Having a healthy smile can be suggestive of someone who cares about their appearance and therefore has pride in the work they do. With this in mind, maintaining a consistent brushing and flossing routine each day can make a huge difference to how you’re perceived at work and has the potential to improve your professional relationships.
Avoid wider health complications
There are a number of health complications related to having an unhealthy smile and some of them may come as a surprise:
Heart disease: bacteria that builds in the mouth as a result of poor oral hygiene can eventually enter your bloodstream and make its way directly to the heart, causing heart disease.
Stroke: bacteria (namely plaque) can cause inflammation in your arteries and result in a stroke.
Alzheimer’s: research is still ongoing into the link between gum disease and Alzheimer’s though studies appear confident there is a direct link between the two. For more information, read this piece from the NHS website.
Hopefully this is motivation for incorporating some healthy habits when you’re looking after your pearly whites each day!
Visit our Norwhich dentist to achieve your perfect smile.