Ask nearly anyone what they look for in a mate and most people would reply a great smile filled with nice teeth. Getting that attribute can seem to be an impossibility for individuals not blessed with genetically perfect grin devoid of dental problems such as tooth decay and gum disease. Fortunately, with a little effort, consumers can empower themselves to get a great smile, regardless of their dental health lineage.

Dental Care

Nature vs. nurture is one of the oldest debates in the scientific community. No matter your personal opinions on the matter, within the dentistry community the fact remains that regardless of genetics, dental neglect can contribute to a decline in dental health and general well being. That is why a mix of daily dental care backed by professional dental care is a must to ensure a great smile.

Dental neglect involves following a series of bad behaviors including skipping brushing and flossing, not exercising to maintain a healthy weight and fitness level and making poor food choices. Individuals who choose that lifestyle are making themselves vulnerable to an excess of dental plaque that will contribute to health issues including tooth erosion, gingivitis, halitosis, heart disease, diabetes and even cancer.

Those conditions will certainly prevent a patient from turning their frown upside down so daily oral hygiene is a must to ensuring a great smile. At the bare minimum consumers must brush their teeth twice a day, floss daily to remove dental plaque and food particles from in betweenteeth and choose clean fresh water as the premiere beverage of choice. Those simple steps will act as a type of preventative dentistry by removing many of the compounds that are harmful to tooth enamel and by providing a defense for bad breath.

In addition to those practices, individuals are then encourage to make regular dental visits. Most dental care professionals suggest a twice a year schedule as a minimum as at that point, dentists can clean teeth and monitor dental trouble spots and provide preventative dentistry recommendations to guard against further development of dental problems. It is important to note that getting the right dental care early on in the development of a dental problem is a proven cost saving maneuver and can help a person smile sooner than later.

White Teeth

During its heyday, the TV show Friends was immensely popular and many individuals found themselves immersed in Friday morning water cooler chat about the program. One episode that will go down in infamy is when Ross (played by David Schwimmer) underwent excessive tooth bleaching to impress a girl and instead ended up with a smile that glowed ridiculously under a blue light. The lesson learned is while white teeth can be dazzling, too much can look unnatural and prevent a person from having a great smile.

A great smile is often categorized as having white teeth and fresh breath and individuals can start making some changes on their own to get the attribute. By altering lifestyle choices to minimize the consumption of tooth staining food and vices including alcohol, smoking and candy the risk of tooth staining and dental damage will be minimized and breath can instantly be improved.

If those behaviors are under control, tooth whitening is another way to ensure that a smile is great. Individuals with limited budgets can lighten yellowed or discolored teeth via at home whitening kits (including but not limited to Crest Whitestrips, whitening toothpastes or organic tooth whitening options) or can splurge and have a dentist perform cosmetic dentistry in order to achieve the results. Underneath some tooth discoloration is a great smile waiting to be shared with the world.

Smile Often

Fake it until you make it is a favorite saying in corporate America and those who apply the philosophy in regards to smiling can end up with a great smile. Within the field of psychology there is a theory called facial feedback that explains “involuntary facial movements provide sufficient peripheral information to drive emotional experience” (Bernstein, et al., 2000). What that means is that even a fake smile can lead to a real authentic mood boost. The better a person feels, the more often they will show off their great smile.

Individuals should not even bother comparing their smiles to the fabricated versions of Hollywood starlets as in the real world, natural looking smiles filled with small imperfects are chic. The trend is popular in cosmetic dentistry such as dental veneers and individuals should learn to embrace the small ridges, spaces and slightly crooked teeth that may fill their mouths and show them off whenever possible. Actors such as Lauren Bacall and Steve Buscemi have build healthy careers by embracing their subtle teeth imperfections and so can you!

If you are looking to find out more tips on how to have a great smile, contact 0900-Dentist. Not only will our dentists be able to provide the sage advice needed to develop and maintain a great smile, they can also deliver the professional dental care needed to ensure that it is possible.