Start the New Year with a smile makeover
So it’s the start of another year – again! January; and it often feels somewhat depressing … after the exuberance of Christmas, the festive season and the celebration of New Year. Back to work, it’s slow, the weather has become colder; it’s dark in the morning when you get up, grey and drizzling outside, and most of winter still seems ahead. And many people look so glum. However, this may be the perfect time to think about your smile and a smile makeover. After the holidays is a time so many of us resolve to lose weight and/or get fit (groan, groan!).
So why a new smile and why now?
It is not to do with getting a ‘Hollywood’ smile; that’s not the point. It’s about feeling good about oneself, being ‘upbeat’, and having a sunny disposition; which, by the way, losing weight and getting fit should also make you feel. Why is the appearance of your teeth so important?
We are bombarded with images; the culture of celebrity. Everyone wants to look good. It’s the first impression you make on those you meet and those that see you.
- The most common images in so many magazines are of people’s faces, smiling and showing perfect teeth.
- We all like looking at the Oscars or Golden Globe awards on television. Everyone is amazingly dressed (mostly with perfect figures), but the camera zones in on their faces and their big smiles.
- So many people are on Facebook now. More often what do they show? Selfies with smiling faces. Showing what?
- Why do women wear lipstick? What ‘effect’ does lipstick have? It frames and highlights the teeth. So if they don’t look attractive, your attention is still drawn to them more so because of the lipstick. Obvious, isn’t it?
- When we try to ‘hide’ something, people go to more effort to see what is being hidden! So men wearing beards, may be ‘seen’ to hide their mouths. Yet interestingly, perhaps the beard draws more attention to the mouth and the teeth. So men can’t get away with it either!
Moreover, when you meet a new person (in any situation) what is the first thing about them you notice? It is their face and it is almost always the mouth initially. Why? Because that is the area of the face that is most expressive and that is used to communicate with you. Only then do you notice eyes and after that, the skin, the hair and the rest of the body.
Many studies have shown that attractive people really do seem to have more success, socially and even in business. What would you say is potentially the most attractive visual aspect of a human being? Absolutely it is the smile.
There is nothing like being faced with a genuine, warm, open lovely big smile to attract you to a person, to feel relaxed in and enjoy their company and do business with them and/or see them again. Of course that can’t be ‘all’; but it is an extremely important ‘start’.
Years ago, most dentists (Hollywood ones excepted) were not that concerned with aesthetics. They were too busy drilling out the decay and filling the holes or treating gum disease. Now dental and aesthetics, including smile makeovers, constitute a large and very important part of every modern, up-to-date and forward-thinking dental professional. We no longer just focus on people’s physical well-being but their emotional one too. It is immensely satisfying for a dentist to hear from his or her patient after aesthetic treatment has been completed, the following types of comments:
- I feel so much more confident smiling now and I find I do smile a lot more
- People keep telling me what a lovely smile I have
- I seem to notice other people’s teeth much more now
- I really want my partner to fix his/her teeth
- I feel motivated to care for them so much more now than I used to
So how important is the appearance of your own teeth to you? If you want to do something about it, if not now, then when?
