I love Louis Armstrong’s version of the song ‘When You’re Smiling’.
Try this experiment for yourself — I have many times. One day, walk into your place of work, or family living room, and be miserable. Really miserable. Moan about the weather and everything else, look as though you are in a bad mood, and generally stomp around. It is great fun but don’t do it too often.
I guarantee that within minutes, everyone else in the room will have been affected. The whole mood of your family or work colleagues will change. You will see they also do not smile, their shoulders drop, and the entire mood in the room will be dominated by your misery. You can keep this up for as long as you want, and everyone around you will continue to look miserable too.
On another day try the opposite. Be happy, enthusiastic, smiley, and generally of good spirit, and within seconds you will notice your family or colleagues respond positively and the mood generally lifts. OK, don’t overdo it, but you take my point.
I am sure psychologists have a name for this effect, and as a dentist I see the effects that a confident smile can have on people all the time. We all experience the same raised sense of wellbeing by simply dressing nicely or having nice clothes. But a smile and a sunny disposition are not just made up of lips and teeth. Your whole body language and your mannerisms form part of your smile too.
The most remarkable people are those who seem able to behave this way despite their own personal difficulties, whether through illness, family loss, or tragedy. They still seem able to enthuse and inspire those around them, whether they do this by sheer effort of will or it is simply their natural strength of character.
So pride in your smile matters. With a range of disciplines from orthodontics (braces ), periodontics (gums ), whitening, bonded fillings, crowns, and veneers, your dentist can discuss and debate and direct you to the best way forward to allow you to be comfortable with your smile.
So with summer round the corner and the promise of lots of sunshine ahead, make yourself a promise to be positive, not negative, and see what the effect is on those around you, as well as how you feel about yourself. If you are uncomfortable about your smile, ask for advice.
Dr Paul Moore.
