There’s certainly a lot to smile about during the holiday season, including the benefits of a healthy, beautiful smile.
#1 Loving What You See in the Mirror
People who feel self-conscious about their teeth tend to smile and laugh less and cover their mouths when they do. They don’t feel empowered to truly be themselves because they have to hide a part of themselves.
But after orthodontic treatment, that changes. Having a beautiful smile for the first time that you’re proud of instills you with confidence like you’ve never known. Then you’re able to smile at yourself in the mirror and love what you see – the real you, who’s just been waiting to emerge.
#2 Interpersonal Benefits
If you love your smile, other people will love it, too. And like it or not, smiles are one of the first things we notice in other people when we meet them – and one of the first things we judge people on. This is true in professional situations when employers admit they’re hesitant to hire people with “bad teeth,” and in romantic situations, where people say that bad teeth are one of the biggest turn-offs. Instead, an attractive and healthy smile is like a calling card that helps you put your best foot forward when you’re out in the world.
#3 Better Oral Health
A healthy, beautiful smile reflects good oral health overall: the teeth are straight and even without gaps, the bite is aligned, and the gums are nice and healthy. Conversely, an unhealthy smile often reflects bad oral health: missing teeth can lead to bone loss and receding gums; crooked and gapped teeth are hard to keep clean and more likely to decay; and a misaligned bite can cause pain, popping, and clicking in the jaw joint as well as bruxism, or tooth grinding, which wears away the enamel leaving teeth more vulnerable to decay.
#4 Better General Health
Oral health is linked to a number of health conditions that manifest outside the mouth, like heart disease, stroke, and sleep apnea. Dysfunction of the jaw joint can cause pain in the head, neck, shoulders, and back. And a simple toothache that’s left untreated can potentially lead to a body-wide infection with serious consequences. It’s not an overstatement to say that a great smile is great for your health!
#5 A Healthy, Beautiful Smile is a Lifelong Investment
An investment in your smile is one that will pay dividends every day for the rest of your life. It’s hard to think of something else that can make such a profound difference to the way someone sees themselves. And the best part is, anyone can have a beautiful smile!
Give Yourself a Lasting Gift This Holiday Season
Are you a good candidate for orthodontic treatment? As we approach this holiday season, consider making an investment in your own smile as a gift to yourself. Imagine that in a year from now you could have the smile of your dreams, or be that much closer to it, if only you started now. Whether you’re irritated by a single overlapping tooth or you’ve been suffering from chronic jaw pain due to TMJ dysfunction, it’s never too late to fix it and get the smile you’ll love seeing in the mirror for the rest of your life.