What Can Smiling Do for My Health?

One of the most common reasons for people to become dentists is because they want to help people smile. While smiling is often an involuntary reflex to a pleasant occurrence, it can also be a conscious action, and smiling more is known to have real and measurable benefits for a person’s overall health. While many people might be anxious about smiling because of perceived flaws in their teeth, cosmetic dentistry has many ways to pretty up a troubled grin. Here’s a brief overview of how making the effort to smile more often can help improve your quality of life.

Smile for Stress Relief

Stress is a part of life, and frequently dealing with it can take its toll on your appearance. Smiling not only keeps us from looking weary, flustered, and exhausted, but it actually helps us from becoming that way by relieving stress. Smiling can even do this if you don’t feel like it or if you’re just faking it to keep the people around you at ease. The next time you find yourself stressed out, try smiling to help improve your mood and manage the situation.

Smiling Can Help You Live Longer

A joyful, optimistic outlook is key to a healthy way of life. Believe it or not, smiling can help to extend your lifespan. One study found that people who frequently smile in an intense and genuine manner are more likely to live longer. While it seems that happier people lead healthier, longer lives, it’s not exactly clear why. However, research indicates that having a good attitude or at least faking one until you develop one can extend your lifespan by years.

Smiling Makes You More Attractive

While frowning, scowling, and grimacing can make it harder for people to communicate with you, smiling makes people think that you have more positive personality traits. People who smile frequently are generally seen as confident, friendly, and approachable by the people around them, and this can be a great boon for those out in the dating world. It also helps make you look younger, as the muscular contractions help lift the face into a more full and vivacious position. The next time you’re looking to impress a person of interest, try smiling a lot in their presence.

There’s no way to put a price tag on your smile. Maintaining it with regular dental appointments and maybe even a few cosmetic dental treatments can help you live a better, healthier life.

About the Author

Dr. Sienna Palmer earned her dental doctorate at the Ostrow School of Dentistry at the University of Southern California. She is Invisalign Certified and working towards her fellowship with the Academy of General Dentistry. Her office in Mission Viejo, CA offers general, restorative, emergency, and cosmetic dentistry. To set up a cosmetic dental consultation, contact her office online or dial (949) 365-0951.