The Smile

How important is a smile? Answer: A genuine smile is an index of your happiness.

According to Dr. Martin Seligman, author of Authentic Happiness, there are two kinds of smile.

The first is the genuine smile (Duchenne smile) and the other is the courtesy smile ( Pan-American smile). The muscles that control the genuine smile are difficult to control voluntarily, the corners of the mouth turn up and the skin around the corners of your eyes crinkles ( the crow’s feet), therefore it is hard to portray a genuine smile unless you really mean it and you are happy inside.

The Pan-American smile is a courtesy smile, as in the case of a flight attending responding to a patron. It is an expression of courtesy and politeness rather than inner joy. American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry revealed : - Over 92 % of the adults surveyed believed an attractive smile is an important asset. - 88 % said they always remember someone with an especially attractive smile. - 85 % agree that an unattractive smile makes a person less appealing to people of the opposite sex. - 74 % agree that an unattractive smile can hurt a person’s chances for career success.

Researchers have shown that we make snap judgments about a person’s social and intellectual abilities, just by the appearance of their teeth. - The participants associated the presence of decayed and discolored teeth with lower levels of social and intellectual competence, and with poorer psychological adjustment. - They judged the male subjects with no apparent dental disease to be more socially competent, to show greater intellectual achievement and to be better psychologically adjusted. SMILE ENHANCEMENT CHOICES

1. IN OFFICE WHITENING- safely lightens the color of teeth due to darkening from age, coffee, tea or smoking.Removes teeth discolorations. 2. BRACES - correct crooked, crowded teeth, overbites or under bites, incorrect jaw position and disorders of the jaw joints. 3. BRIDGES - replaces one or more natural missing teeth by cementing a false tooth( a pontic) fused between two crowns onto the surrounding teeth. 4. WHITE FILLINGS - restore decayed area with natural colored composite resin to look identical to actual teeth. 5. CROWNS - covers or caps broken, cracked, badly shaped or severely discolored teeth to restore its normal shape and size. 6. BONDING - Used for slightly discolored teeth and those in need of reshaping, fill in gaps, change color of teeth. 7. VENEERS - used to mask discoloration and/or change shape of teeth, improve the smile. 8. IMPLANTS - titanium post is surgically placed to replace missing teeth. A crown is placed on top of the implant once it has integrated into the bone.

Recommendation The British Dental Health Foundation has backed research that says smiling can give more pleasure than sex or chocolate- but added that people need to keep their smile looking its best for maximum effect. Seeing a smile creates what is termed as a “halo” effect, helping us to remember other happy events more vividly, feel more optimistic, more positive and more motivated. A healthy smile can improve your confidence, help you make friends and help you succeed in your career, so you need to keep it looking its best. Overall, a nice, healthy looking smile is a good thing. Some people tend to neglect their dental care until they have pain or infection, preventive dental care would keep their mouth healthy and pain free. Many women spend much more money on their hair and nails and have a mouth that that have many decayed, discolored and crooked teeth and they wonder why they have problems attracting members of the opposite sex. Recent research have shown a link between gum disease and heart disease, thus a person’s overall health can be improved by taking care of their smile.