Smile Makeovers: An Amazing Investment 

Did you know that a smile can make over your mood? It’s true. 

Read on to find out more about the benefits of smiling and why a smile makeover could be an amazing investment to make in your happiness and success. 

Smiling Connects Us with Others

A healthy smile transcends social status, gender, age, sexual orientation, religious values, or geographical location. Our mirror neurons naturally respond to signs of happiness like smiles with more happiness.

Travel writer Clemens Sehi uses a smile not just to feel better, but also as a way of connecting with strangers. “When traveling there is one thing that one realizes quite fast: a smile can change everything. It can open doors and the hearts of other people whose culture you do not even know. A smile is the most international language that everyone knows.” 

A smile costs little to share, and benefits everyone, including the person smiling!

Smiling Boosts Workplace Productivity 

If you were asked to name one of your coworkers or managers you admire the most, chances are one of the traits of such a person would be their pleasant smile and professionalism. Why? 

It’s because our brains remember pleasant emotions. Like Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” 

At work, a polite smile can help professionalism feel friendly. Smiling increases the chances of bonding with others, and that neurochemical and interpersonal boost is linked to an increase in performance and productivity.

Smiling Changes Our Brain Chemistry

Smiling leads our brains to produce and release brain chemicals that trigger our facial muscles to smile. As we smile, our body begins a feedback loop of happy chemicals, where our contracting facial muscles send more signals back to our brain. This rewards us with more endorphins. It’s an amazing feedback loop of happiness: When we smile, we reinforce the neurochemical reactions that makes us smile. 

But here’s the amazing thing: You don’t have to feel happy to begin this rewarding feedback loop of happy hormones. You can get this cascade started by deliberately moving your facial muscles into a smile. You really can fake it till you make it!

Several studies have confirmed that there is a higher chance of changing your mood when you trick your body into elevating your mood.  As the physical activity will trigger a response to your brain, it will trigger the release of happy chemicals into your system.

This tactic isn’t about encouraging toxic positivity. Emotional authenticity matters, and it’s important not to bypass serious emotions and situations. 

But it’s a lot easier to deal with life’s challenges if we can face them with more happiness on our side, and it’s wonderful to know we have an additional tool for improving our mood. 

Smiling Boosts Immunity

Our brains don’t know the difference between a real smile and a fake one. If your facial muscles move, you’re stimulating the happiness feedback loop, and that loop brings with it real health benefits. 

“What’s crazy is that just the physical act of smiling can make a difference in building your immunity,” says Dr. Grossan. “When you smile, the brain sees the muscle [activity] and assumes that humor is happening.” *

“Even forcing a fake smile can legitimately reduce stress and lower your heart rate,” says Dr. Sivan Finkel, a cosmetic dentist at NYC’s The Dental Parlour. “A study performed by a group at the University of Cardiff in Wales found that people who could not frown due to botox injections were happier on average than those who could frown.”

Invest in Your Health and Success with a Smile 

A smile is beneficial to the person who is exercising it, and it has an infectious effect on others. Exercising smiling daily has a healthy, long-lasting impact on your immune system and increases healthy human relationships.

Dentistry can transform your smile, and a smile can transform your brain chemistry and social outcomes. 

Thinking about how to make your smile more powerful? Our practice would love to help. We’ve been building smiles in the Brockport, Hamlin, Rochester  area for over 10 years and we’re looking forward to helping you explore your smile makeover options, which could include:

• Whitening treatments
• Invisalign
• Veneers
• Implants

You may be surprised by how fast and easy a smile makeover can be–and with sedation dentistry, comfortable as well. Now that’s something to smile about! 

Contact us at today and let’s brighten your smile! 

* https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/smiling-can-trick-your-brain-happiness-boost-your-health-ncna822591

By Brockport Smiles

May 2, 2023