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YOU PROBABLY HEARD the line "it takes fewer muscles to smile than to frown" when you were growing up, but the pedantic dentist might point out that it technically isn't true. At least ten muscles are involved in smiling, while as few as six are required for frowning. But that's no reason to frown more; if you think about it, it just means that smiling burns more calories! Even better, there are many other benefits that come from a smiling face.

We Smile When We're Happy...and Vice Versa?
We obviously smile when we feel happy, but evidence indicates that smiling and happiness are so closely linked that the simple act of smiling can cause happy feelings. Even if it's a fake smile, it can still release endorphins (also known as the feel-good hormone) and make us feel better. It might be worth trying a smile the next time you're having a rough day to see if it helps.

Smiling Can Reduce Pain and Stress
Thanks to that endorphin boost from smiling, we can get a lot of other benefits beyond improving our mood. In the moment, endorphins can help reduce pain and relieve stress. They function a lot like painkillers, except that they are free of side-effects!
In 2012, an experiment showed some interesting results with the simple act of smiling. Subjects were given a stressful task, and some were required to hold a pencil between their lips as they did the task (simulating a pouty expression) while others were required to hold it between their teeth (simulating smiling). The second group's heart rates returned to normal more quickly, suggesting that smiling helps us manage stress.

The Effects Multiply Over Time
It's lovely to get some short-term effects from endorphins, but those effects are cumulative over time. If we make a habit of smiling more, we can end up with long-term health benefits like being more resilient against illnesses and less likely to get cancer. The reason it reduces the risk of cancer is that when we are better at managing our stress, our cells undergo fewer stress-induced mutations throughout our lives.

Add to Your Lifespan Through Smiles
People will often perceive a smiling face as younger and more attractive, but that can go deeper than appearances. A lifetime of smiling may actually come with enough health benefits to be longer! But it can be difficult to smile when we aren't confident in the way our teeth look. Having a smile we're proud to show off requires us to be diligent with our dental hygiene routine, and it may mean orthodontic treatment or other dental work is necessary.

Come to the Dentist With Your Beautiful Smile!
You don't have to fight alone for your smile's health — the dentist is your biggest ally. Make sure to schedule regular cleanings and exams so that you can get that deep clean from the hygienist and so that the dentist has a chance to catch any problems when they are minor and easy to treat. Also bring your questions about your dental health!

Our patients always make us smile!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

Disclaimer: The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

WE CAN SEE a hint of the state of dental health in Shakespeare's England from a sonnet in which he describes his lady love's reeking breath. The lines "black contagious breath" and "his breath stinks with eating toasted cheese" make it into two of the history plays. This was likely because dental health in England was in a sorry state during the Bard's day.

The Sugar Trade Devastates English Dental Health
Cavities and missing teeth were common in Early Modern England, but it was much worse for the wealthy and even Queen Elizabeth herself, whose teeth were described as "very yellow and unequal" by a French ambassador and "her teeth black" by a German traveler, who correctly identified sugar as the culprit. That's right: the sugar trade had reached England, and aristocratic teeth paid a heavy price for it. Surgeons, tooth-drawers, and blacksmiths had a lot of work to do pulling rotten teeth.

Cavities Only the Nobility Could Afford
Sugar was so expensive that only the wealthy could afford it. Some were even using sugar paste to brush their teeth! Many in the lower classes would actually rub charcoal on their teeth to make themselves appear richer. As for actual dental hygiene, people would use quills or wood for toothpicks and cloths to wipe off plaque. We're definitely happier with modern floss and toothbrushes!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

Disclaimer: the content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

ANYONE WHO HAS or had braces has noticed the different parts and probably wondered what role they perform in orthodontic treatment. Some patients just have the basics: brackets, archwires, and O-rings, while others have extra components to correct a more complex issue.

Brackets, Archwires, and O-Rings

The brackets serve as the anchor points. We place them very precisely on each tooth. Then comes the archwire, which can come in different thicknesses and be made of different materials depending on what we want it to do. The archwire remembers its original shape and applies pressure on the brackets (and, in turn, the teeth) over time to return to that shape. The colorful O-rings keep the archwire fastened to the brackets but allows it to slide a little when necessary.

Elastics for Malocclusions

A common and simple add-on is the elastic band. These correct bad bites by applying pressure to the jaws to move into a better alignment. They only work on schedule if the patient uses them EXACTLY as instructed. Skipping them here or there will delay treatment, but so will doubling up! Don't try to outsmart the orthodontist's plan; it came from years of training and experience.

Other Common Braces Add-Ons

Braces are sometimes preceded by spacers to make room for them. Some patients require a palatal expander to correct a narrow palate, crowding, and/or crossbites. Holding arches can keep the space open if a child loses a baby tooth too early. If a patient has a deep bite, we can correct it with a bite plate.

Disclaimer: The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

LET’S TAKE A look at how orthodontic treatment can overlap with speech pathology. Overbites are common causes of lisps and whistling while talking, as are gaps between teeth. Air can escape through the gap while trying to make sounds that require the speaker to press their tongue against their teeth. Orthodontic treatment corrects these problems and makes it easier to speak clearly.

It Can Be Tricky to Speak Around Crowded Teeth

In order to correctly form words and control the speed of our speech, our tongues need room to move. A small jaw or dental crowding can restrict the tongue’s movement, increasing the chances of a stutter or slurred speech. Braces correct these issues and give the tongue all the space it needs to form the correct sounds!

English Versus Crooked Teeth

The English language contains several sounds that require our teeth to be correctly positioned in order to pronounce them. It’s difficult to say sounds like CH as in “chair,” SH as in “shape,” F as in “feet,” V as in “van,” J as in “jump,” S as in “soup,” the voiceless TH as in “think,” the voiced TH as in “the,” Z as in “zoom,” and ZH as in “treasure” with a bad bite, gaps, or crowding. Braces move the teeth into their proper positions, solving these pronunciation problems!

The Many Benefits of Straight Teeth

Not all speech disorders can be improved with orthodontic treatment, but anyone who struggles to make certain sounds due to malocclusions, crowding, or crooked teeth will likely see an improvement. Clearer speech isn’t the only benefit to straight teeth either — they’re easier to clean, they look great, and they even improve digestion.

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.