THE IMPORTANCE OF A SMILE
The importance of a smile is boundless. Victor Borge said ‘a smile is the shortest distance between 2 people’, and I agree. In any culture it can transgress boundaries and bring strangers to a point of commonality and acceptance. Smiling also releases feel good endorphins, and so it literally makes the giver feel as good as the recipient.
In terms of our teeth, a recent poll stated that 43% of people interviewed said an attractive smile was the single most important feature of a person’s looks. Another study found that as many as 4 out of 5 people were unhappy with the appearance of their teeth, many of these hiding them in photographs or when speaking to others.
Dental embarrassment has in the past put many people off addressing their dental concerns. And yet modern dental techniques, materials and equipment can make the steps to dental confidence much simpler, rewarding and painless than ever before.
The dental armoury is now vast, from the simple improvement of digital x-rays, to invisible braces, to all white crowns made out of ceramic steel, and one visit crowns which are digitally scanned and created in the practice while you wait.
In our practice I can see that dental implants are becoming the norm in the treatment of an array of dental problems, from the replacement of single teeth to securing uncomfortable, unstable dentures. People are thinking more carefully about their dental care and future.
The canny client is strategising their approach, viewing their regular dental care as part of a life long plan. When they have to restore and replace teeth they are making their choice in terms of a pragmatic long term strategy to have comfortable, functional teeth and a pleasing smile for their lifetime.
The options available mean that people do not have to give in to discomforts which were once common and accepted, such as wobbly dentures and unsightly silver fillings.
Improving your teeth can have another often unconsidered advantage, providing a type of surgery free facelift, by increasing your natural facial support and helping diminish the appearance of lines and wrinkles.
So, in the wake of television programmes like ‘10 Years Younger’, and as people start to live longer and become more and more aware of the value of their teeth, for both their appearance and their general health, it can be said that the importance of a smile is greater than ever before.
Sonya Hamill, Practice Manager of Blueapple Dental & Implant Team, Belcoo.
Award Winning Dentistry
