How a Beautiful Smile Could Make You Healthier

It’s common for dentists to talk about the importance of a beautiful smile. They see firsthand the difference that one can make in people’s lives, but given the nature of their profession, it’s easy to assume that they’re a little bit biased.

However, there’s actually substantial evidence that smiling offers some real health benefits. If you’re interested in learning more, here’s what the science says.

Smiling for Stress Relief

You might have heard the term “fake it ‘til you make it.” It can sound a little bit silly, but there’s some very good evidence that it works. A 2012 study published by the Association for Psychological Science asked people to complete stressful tasks both while smiling and with a neutral expression. It was found that, even though it was not authentic, those who were grinning had lower stress levels than those who did not.

Is It the Best Medicine?

Obviously, smiling isn’t a substitute for medical treatment. However, it’s been found that grinning could potentially have a positive impact on the immune system. It’s believed that this is related to the proven connection between smiling and stress relief; the body is better at fighting off disease in a state of relaxation, so smiling could potentially help boost your immunity to illness.

Smile Through the Pain

It’s sometimes said that pain is just a state of mind. While this could be an overstatement in some cases, there’s some evidence that smiling could potentially assist in pain relief.

A 2021 study published in Emotion measured subjective experiences of pain among subjects who were smiling versus those who were grimacing. The test subjects also had their heart rate monitored for the duration of the experiment.

When poked with a vaccination-like needle, subjects who were smiling reported much a much milder subjective experience of pain, as well as lower heart rate.

With everything that smiling can do for you, you might want to make it a point to do it more often. The next time your dentist tells you how important beautiful teeth are, you’ll know that there’s something to what they’re saying.

About the Author

Dr. Bob Heil is a native Wisconsinite who is enormously proud to be able to serve his community with his incredible clinical expertise. He makes it a point to get to know each of his patients on a personal level, allowing him to provide them with unique, personalized care. Dr. Heil received his dental degree from the University of Minnesota, and he is currently a member of the American Dental Association, Wisconsin Dental Association, and the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine.

If you have any questions about how you can get a smile worth celebrating, he can be reached at his website or by phone at (920) 235-0320.