Tag: smile

Smile Benefits

3 Reasons Why You Should Smile More

A smile can be contagious, but smiling can also be beneficial for your health and mind. Don’t believe us? Check out three ways you can benefit from making it a point to smile more.

The Benefits Of Smiling

The first reason why you should try to smile more is it can help reduce stress. Genuine smiles have been shown to help reduce stress levels in humans. Everybody has stress in their life, and although it may not always be easy to find a reason to smile when you’re stressed, try to throw yourself into a happy activity or mindset if you’re feeling overly stressed. Whether that involves watching cat fail videos on YouTube or only thinking back to a happy memory, if you can find a way to make yourself smile, you’ll be able to lower your stress levels.

Another benefit of smiling is, studies have shown smiling leads to an increase in positive thinking in the brain. Smiling can help to create a positive mood, and it begins to create a habit in your mind where happy feelings become the norm. Shawn Achor wrote about this phenomenon in his book The Happiness Advantage. Smiling more often helps to lead to happier thoughts, which can lead to a more joyful overall disposition in life.

And finally, one reason to smile more is, smiling is contagious. We’re more likely to smile if we see someone else smile, and that can help to enhance the mood of everyone in the room. Smiling has also been associated with an increased sense of trustworthiness, friendliness, and approachability. This can help you make connections in the workplace or elsewhere in the world.

Don’t be afraid to show off your smile to the world. If you’re self-conscious about your smile, or you want help making it look the best, reach out to Dr. Brooks and the team at Smiles for Life Dental. Whether you have issues with your teeth’s alignment, you want to make your teeth look whiter, or you have another question you want to be addressed, contact the dental team at Smiles for Life Dental.

We can help give you a smile you’ve always dreamed of having. For more information, or to set up an appointment, give us a call today at (952) 888-2300.

 

Sparkly Smile

5 Tips For A Sparkly Smile

Like a lot of things in life, a sparkly smile requires work. You’re not just going to be able to ignore your teeth and wake up with a pearly white smile every day. With that said, if you know some tricks to help protect your teeth against bacteria and decay and you commit to a healthy oral hygiene plan, we’re confident you’ll have a healthy smile for decades.

How To Get A White Smile

There are several different things you can do to help give your teeth a healthy glow. Here are five of them.

1. Avoid liquids that stain your teeth

There are some liquids that both stain and break down the enamel of your teeth. The main culprit is coffee, but tea and wine can also stain your teeth. If you can do without these items, you’ll help to prevent staining or discoloration.

2. If you can’t ditch them, limit them

If it’s too hard to give up coffee, tea, or wine, then at least try to reduce your daily consumption. Go from two cups a day to one, and then go from a cup a day to one every other day. Instead of drinking these liquids, reach for water. Tap water is great because it contains fluoride, a compound that helps to strengthen your teeth. So not only doesn’t it stain your teeth, but it actively works to make them healthier!

3. Quit tobacco

Another habit you’ll want to kick if you’re serious about protecting your teeth is to quit tobacco products. Cigarettes and chewing tobacco have tar and other substances inside them which can get into openings in your enamel and damage and stain teeth. Professional teeth whitening can help to reverse the damage done by tobacco products, but going forward, eliminate the habit to help protect your teeth.

4. Practice proper brushing and flossing techniques

As we mentioned in the intro, if you want to have a sparkly smile, you have to put in some work. Work, in this sense, means daily brushing and flossing. You’ll want to brush your teeth at least twice a day for a minimum of two minutes every time you brush and get in the habit of flossing before bed each night. Brushing and flossing will help to keep bacteria, acids from food and plaque from accumulating and breaking down your white tooth enamel.

5. Regular checkups

The final tip to keep in mind if you want to have a sparkly smile for years to come is to get semi-annual cleanings from your dental provider. Aside from cleaning your teeth and removing plaque, your dentist can also administer sealants or whitening products to help protect your smile and give it the glow you’re looking for. Aside from the two cleanings a year, be sure to visit your dentist if you’re experiencing any tooth, gum or jaw pain, as it may be a sign of a more significant issue that needs to be addressed.