A strong smile is important for your health, but also for your interactions with others. The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry found that people between the ages of 31 and 50 are most unhappy with their smiles. Keeping your teeth and gums healthy can improve your overall wellbeing in your health, career, and social life.
Confidence
People who are not happy with their teeth may hide their smile and feel self-conscious when talking to others. The act of smiling releases endorphins that improve your attitude and make you feel good. While you’re smiling, you will also appear more confident to others. A good smile helps improve your confidence because you won’t always be worried about how you look. Having a good, healthy smile will make you want to smile more.
Impressions
Your physical appearance is the first feature to make an impression on someone. About 96 percent of people agree that a smile is very important to your appearance. About 40 percent of people notice a smile before any other feature, and in another survey, 42 percent of people said the least attractive thing in a person is not smiling. In today’s standards, a good smile is straight and white, and it makes a person look more attractive.
Career
It’s important to make a good impression with your clients and employees. About 83 percent of people interact with co-workers on a daily basis, and 76 percent interact with clients or customers. A clean, neat appearance is beneficial in long meetings and conversations. If you smile a lot, you’ll appear friendlier and more interested in the other party. In addition, if you’re appealing to look at, people will want to take more time to meet with you, possibly creating more sales and business connections.
Health
Crooked, gapped, or crowded teeth can be difficult to clean. Decay can form in crevices between teeth, and if not removed, can cause plaque buildup, cavities, and gum disease. These problems will have to be fixed with fillings, crowns, or other restorative techniques to avoid infecting other teeth. Worn out teeth will be weak and more prone to fracture or breakage. In addition, alignment problems can cause headaches, jaw pain, and problems eating and speaking.
Visit Dr. Locke to start improving your smile, and thus your appearance, confidence, and health. He can make your smile healthy by restoring the problems, then enhance it with cosmetic treatments. Contact our dental office in Waco, TX at (254) 776-4888 to schedule an appointment.