A healthy smile isn’t just something that we should aim to have for aesthetic purposes. As it turns out, there are numerous ways in which our smile supports our overall health. Learning what these benefits are may help you prioritize your dental health and encourage you to smile more. Let’s take a look at what role your smile plays in your dental health and why smiling every day is something that you should aim for!
The Science of Smiling: How It Affects Your Mood and Well-being
When you’re smiling, you’re generally happy. As it turns out, that’s no mistake. Much like how our bodies cry when we feel sad, our body releases endorphins when we smile, Endorphins are the feel-good hormones that we also receive when we do other positive things like exercising, and they serve to support a brighter mood. Smiling also releases the neurotransmitter serotonin, which plays a crucial role in mood. When you smile, it helps to balance out your mood and well-being, producing chemicals and hormones that lead to a healthy cycle of feeling better and smiling more often. Smiling can help to increase your self-confidence and overall mental health.
Smile and Stress Relief: The Power of a Positive Expression
Of course, smiling isn’t just a tool in our belt that we can turn to when we want a mood boost. It’s actually something that we can enlist the help of when we need some stress relief. Continuing with the above point on the production of hormones like endorphins and chemicals like serotonin, these byproducts of smiling go beyond producing a good mood. They can also serve to hamper the production and effects of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. If you’re ever in need of a stress-busting activity, try smiling. You might be surprised that it helps you let off some steam.
Smile and Physical Health: How It Boosts Immunity and Overall Wellness
Speaking to the connection between physical and dental health, improved mood and reduced stress can play a major role in how you feel overall. Low mood and high stress are attributed to increased pain and inflammation, digestive issues, and cardiovascular problems. By reducing the risk for these issues, you greatly improve your physical health. It’s also important to note that a healthy smile can boost immunity and overall wellness too. Like chronic stress and low mood, bad oral health can cause cardiovascular problems, increase the risk that you might develop neurodegenerative diseases, and lead to kidney issues. The more you smile and the better your smile, the better your dental health!
Smiling is something that we do naturally. But if you’ve found that you’re not smiling as much as you’d like to and you’re looking for reasons to encourage a smile or more daily, you’ll find that all of the reasons above are ample encouragement to help you smile bright. Your smile is connected to all areas of your health. If you can smile more often, you can reap all the benefits that this simple facial movement has to offer.