Fun Facts About Smiling

Smiling tells a lot about a person. Our perception of a  “happy” person is directly connected to the amount they smile. It doesn’t matter what someone’s teeth look like or what they are smiling or laughing at. If they smile, we consider them cheerful! In reality, smiling goes deeper than perception. It is directly correlated with our mental health and overall well-being and not just how others perceive us. Here’s a list of how smiling can benefit your mental and physical health:

Smiling Betters Your Mood

When you’re in a bad mood and stressed out, the last thing you want to do is smile. However, when you smile, a chemical reaction occurs in the brain that releases hormones like dopamine and serotonin.

Dopamine is a chemical that increases happiness, while serotonin is a chemical associated with stress reduction. Turning your frown upside down can help the body reduce its response to stress and lower your heart rate, putting you in a better mood and state of mind.

Smiling Strengthens Your Immune System

When a smile turns into a laugh, our bodies release a signal to molecules in our brain that fight illnesses. Stress weakens our immune system by straining our bodies ability to circulate blood due to increased heart rate, higher blood pressure, etc.

Smiling Makes You More Attractive

When you smile, you are better looking and more approachable overall. Studies show that when you smile, people tend to treat you differently than when you do not. Also, smiling is contagious: when others see you smile, they want to experience your happiness with you. We can help each other achieve genuine happiness with a simple flash of our pearly whites.

We don’t expect you smile all the time, but with beautiful teeth from Fairfield Dental Arts, we encourage you to have fun, laugh, and smile as much as you can!

For more information on dentistry services at Fairfield Dental Arts, contact us today or schedule an appointment.