Why Improve Your Smile?

We all know the power of a smile. Many parents, career professionals, and even children understand that smiling is something we often can’t control, especially when we are happy. And though smiling is often involuntary and “just happens” based on a euphoric experience, when we don’t like our smile, we can indeed make the conscious choice to turn that smile into a frown. Thankfully, if you want to turn your frown upside down, there are things you can do to improve your smile quickly.

We’re going to get into the details of how to improve your smile. But before we do that, let’s consider the benefits of a smile and why a healthy and happy smile is essential to our well-being.

Six Benefits of the Human Smile

1. Smiles make us attractive: Think about it. When someone smiles at you, it makes you feel good. This is because their smile breaks down barriers and makes the person more attractive and approachable.
2. Smiles relieve stress: When we smile, our bodies release neuropeptides that help us fight off stress. Other neurotransmitters, like dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins, kick in too. Endorphins work like natural, mild pain relievers, and serotonin is a natural antidepressant.
3. Smiles can improve our mood: If you’re feeling down, try smiling. You may find that even if you have to force a smile, you will start to feel better. When you smile, it helps trick your body into elevating your mood. And when you smile at someone else who is feeling down, they may start to feel better too. After all, smiles are contagious!
4. Smiling boosts your immune system: Smiling is one contagion we don’t mind catching, especially in today’s pandemic. And remember those neurotransmitters we mentioned earlier? You guessed it. When we release those neurotransmitters, it can make us feel more relaxed and helps our immune system and overall health.
5. Smiling reduces your blood pressure: Don’t believe us? If you have a blood pressure monitor at home, give this experiment a little try. Take your blood pressure and make a note of it. Then sit for a few minutes and smile while you wait (thinking pleasant thoughts will make it easier for you to smile). Then, take another blood pressure reading. You may be surprised to see a difference!
6. Smiling gives you a natural facelift: We already talked about how a smile can make you more attractive, but a smile can also make you feel younger. So the next time you are considering a Botox or collagen injection, try putting on a smile instead.

Proper oral hygiene is the best way to maintain your smile.

We are only fortunate enough to receive one set of natural teeth during our adult years. Therefore, it is up to us to take the steps to care for those teeth. And naturally, our smiles will be brighter and bigger when we are in good oral health. By taking some basic steps, we are making a significant effort to protect our overall health, both physical and mental. Some of the best things we can do to take care of our teeth and our smile are the following:

1. Brush up, literally and figuratively, on your at-home oral hygiene routine. In the least, be sure to brush your teeth twice daily and after meals if possible, and floss once a day too. Brushing and flossing regularly freshens our breath and removes food particles that might be stuck to or in between our teeth.
2. Get your teeth cleaned by your dentist every six months. When we see our dentist regularly for a cleaning, we ensure the stains and plaque that our toothbrush and floss can’t get to are adequately removed. The plaque we miss on our teeth can eventually harden into tarter, thus leading to potential tooth decay.
3. Be on the lookout for periodontitis, otherwise known as gum disease. Periodontitis is a serious infection of the gums that can destroy the bones that support your teeth. When we don’t have our gums checked regularly and when we don’t properly care for our mouths, it can lead to tooth loss.

Things You Can Do to Improve Your Smile Quickly

If you have tried smiling but aren’t satisfied with your smile for any reason, chances are the cause of your dissatisfaction has something to do with your teeth. If you want to improve your smile quickly and are already doing everything you can to practice proper oral hygiene, Dr. Farless and Dr. Locklear can help.

However, it is important to remember that cosmetic dentistry is intended to serve as a complement to proper oral hygiene. In addition, it’s important to realize that cosmetic dentistry is not really for cosmetic purposes only; most cosmetic procedures, including the ones below, are primarily done to restore or assist proper bite, function, and stability.

That said, some of the most common treatments to help improve your smile include teeth whitening, veneers, and dental crowns.

Teeth Whitening to Improve Your Smile

Over the years, our teeth can lose their natural white luster due to staining from coffee, soda, red wine, nicotine, and even certain foods. Professionally applied teeth-whitening systems, such as KöR Max, Ultra, and Ultra-T, can provide thorough whitening versus the patchy effect sometimes obtained through at-home whitening kits. Additionally, teeth whitening from the Farless Dental Group provides fast results to give you the confidence boost you desire.

Same Day Dental Crowns to Improve Your Smile

If your family dentist has told you that you need a crown, your natural reaction might have been that you don’t have the time to dedicate to multiple office visits to treat your tooth decay. Traditional dental crowns indeed require two or more procedures to create and place the crown. However, modern cosmetic dentistry now uses the novel approach of same day dental crowns.

CEREC crowns, otherwise known as same day crowns, can help restore your damaged tooth to its natural appearance, alignment, strength, and shape. Same day crowns can also protect a tooth that has become weak, cracked, broken, or decayed. The high-quality ceramic used in a same day dental crown can help preserve your natural tooth structure, and no one but you will know you have a crown. You may get so used to your new same day dental crown that you will forget it is even there.

Dental Veneers to Improve Your Smile

Veneers are all the rage these days, especially with the number of celebrities electing to brighten their smile using this modern dental technology. You might be asking yourself, however, “What are dental veneers?” Have you ever noticed Tom Cruise, Nicholas Cage, George Clooney, or Demi Moore’s bright smile? These celebrities are all wearing veneers on their teeth.

But you don’t need to be a celebrity to deserve the healthiest, brightest smile for you. Veneers improve more than appearance. They straighten teeth and correct chips and cracks, too, improving function and confidence. Straight, intact teeth are also easier to care for, which reduces your chances of future dental health issues.

Porcelain veneers are layers or shells of tooth-colored composite or porcelain placed on the top surface of your teeth. Dental veneers can be created in about a week, making it easy for you to quickly improve your smile. With just two visits to your family dentist required, you’ll be able to have your veneers attached in no time, brightening your smile and adding a boost to your self-confidence.

Want to improve your smile in Greensboro, NC?

If you have a smile you want to improve, there is no need to keep searching online for “same day crowns near me” or “cosmetic dental procedures in Greensboro, NC.” Dr. Farless and Dr. Locklear at Farless Dental Group have years of cosmetic dentistry experience, improving the smiles of many patients. Be sure to request an appointment to schedule a time to meet with us to improve your smile. We look forward to meeting with you.