Statistically speaking, people with dental problems are more likely to report experiencing heightened levels of anxiety, depression, and a lack of desire to engage with others socially. Worrying about your appearance or how you’ll be perceived can detract from your confidence and leave you feeling isolated.
Your dentist can restore your self-esteem by enhancing your appearance with one or several cosmetic procedures. Whether you hope to brighten, straighten, or mend imperfections in your teeth, they can help. However, did you know that showing off your recently upgraded smile can improve your overall health? Continue reading to learn three reasons why!
Benefit #1: Relieve Stress
When you’re feeling overworked, overwhelmed, or particularly triggered, your body responds by releasing hormones to prepare you for whatever happens next. These chemicals tense your muscles and increase your heart rate so you can act quickly. Biologically, this evolutionary survival response was intended to keep us alive, but in our contemporary culture, it doesn’t always have a healthy release.
Fortunately, showing off your pearly whites can potentially reverse the effect. When you smile, your brain pushes endorphins and other neurotransmitters that lower blood pressure and relax muscles to ease tension.
Benefit #2: Boost Immunity
One particularly troublesome chemical your body produces when you’re feeling anxious, frazzled, or strained is cortisol. This serves a purpose in the immediate moment by slowing down nonessential bodily functions during a harmful situation that triggers the fight-or-flight response. If you’re chronically overwhelmed, the buildup of this hormone can reduce the number of lymphocytes in your system. These white blood cells help you fight infection; without enough, you’re more vulnerable to viruses like the common cold.
Thankfully, lifting the corners of your lips releases endorphins that directly counteract cortisol and reduce its impact. If you’re struggling to recover from a cough or other illness, grinning might just be what you need to recover!
Benefit #3: Reduce Pain
Smiling can also improve your daily quality of life by addressing pain in your body. When you grin, specific endorphins are released that relieve minor aches throughout your system. At the same time, dopamine and serotonin flood your system to help uplift your mood, like a natural anti-depressant. The impact is so effective that a study from the University of California found that it can reduce the pain of a needle injection by up to 40%.
As you can see, there are many excellent reasons to feel happy about your recently enhanced appearance!
About the Practice
At Roselle Park Dental & Implants, you benefit from a team of general dentists and specialists who work together to offer a full array of services to meet all your dental needs. They’re experienced working with people of all ages, so you and your family can all receive the same top-quality care. They take the time to get to know your unique concerns and goals, then use state-of-the-art equipment to devise fully individualized treatment plans to address them. If you want to upgrade your grin, you can request an appointment on the website or call (908) 245-1745.