Study Shows How Important A Smile Really Is

When you don’t feel like smiling it can be more than a little annoying to hear people suggest that you “try smiling more”. “Just grin and bear it” is a common expression for people who undergo stressful situations, and it almost sounds ridiculous. If the smile is fake, could there be any benefit? A study from the University of Kansas is hinting that there might indeed be some benefit to smiles, regardless of how genuine they are. In the study, 170 participants were given a set of stressful tasks like tracing an outline with their non-dominant hand, or immersing a hand in freezing cold water. While focusing on the task, they were also asked to hold chopsticks in their mouths, in such a way that the muscles around their lips and mouth would be activated. These are the same muscles that become activated when we smile, but of course there would be no emotion tied to the action. Regardless of feeling, the participants with a lab induced smile still had lower heart beats and subdued stress levels during the tests. It didn’t matter whether the smiles were genuine or not, the brain still accepted the fake smile as a trigger. More information on the study can be found here. ( http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/smiling-facilitates-stress-recovery.html )

Smiling Should Be Easy

Technically we could all walk around with chopsticks in our mouths, but smiling should be the easier option. Sometimes smiling can feel like the last thing we want to do, but it really will help our overall health, both in the short and long term. For some, the biggest hindrance to an open smile is the lack of confidence in their teeth. If that’s true for you, then you are not alone. Not by a long shot. Cosmetic dentistry is such a rewarding field for exactly this reason. People that leave the office after undergoing a positive change in their smile, can’t seem to stop beaming! And it’s not just the smile. In follow up appointments, they can seem like completely different people. Confident, positive, happy and healthy people walk into the office, and brighten up the room around them with their smile. If you have been humming and hawing about whether to improve your own smile, or if you thought it was something that only the vain have to worry about, then give your head a shake and make an appointment with us as soon as possible. The smile is more than just cosmetic. It affects your entire life, and the sooner you are happier with your smile, the sooner your life will reflect that change. Of course, if you don’t need any cosmetic changes, then just keep smiling! It makes everyone’s day better.