When you have a nice smile full of straight, white teeth, it’s easy to overlook its value. After all, it’s difficult to be truly grateful for something you’ve always had. As for everyone else, the benefits are all too clear. An attractive smile filled with perfectly white teeth comes with a host of psychological and social benefits that anyone can benefit from. Let’s look at the psychological benefits of whiter teeth.
Psychological Benefits of Whiter Teeth
When you first consider it, it’s easy to write-off those little insecurities as vanity. Each person knows that they’re worth so much more than just their appearances. Unfortunately, we also know that it is often difficult to get other people to see past that.
We live in a world filled with half truths. One of the most common is that beauty is held within. It’s a lovely notion, and it is generally true amongst people who know each other well. However, there is a flip side.
When it comes to strangers and even acquaintances, it’s impossible to know who they are on the inside. All that is left is to judge the outside. As a result, many if not most of our interactions with others are actually built on little more than physical appearance.
Why Teeth In Particular
American society has been obsessed with happy, healthy smiles since the 1950s. One satirical author went so far as to write a mock anthropological account of our “rituals of the mouth.” While the health of our teeth is vital to our overall well-being that isn’t all it takes to fulfill the expectations of American society.
Large, pearly white smiles are a staple of non-verbal communication in the United States. It sends a message that the smiling person is friendly, confident, and even responsible. These are loaded messages that greatly improve other Americans’ perceptions of their total character even though it’s just their teeth.
What a Better Smile Can Do for You
If you have ever caught yourself:
- Using a hand to cover your mouth when you laugh
- Talking in a way to show as little of your mouth as possible
- Smiling without showing your teeth
- Avoiding smiling all together
Then receiving teeth whitening in Irvine may be just the thing you need to feel comfortable in society. You may not be ready to show all of your idiosyncrasies to random strangers, but you will have the ability to smile and laugh without needing to stop yourself. That kind of freedom can really improve your general psychological health.
The Trouble with Nagging Insecurities
Covering an insecurity requires constant vigilance. When it comes to hiding less than ideal teeth, the battle is never ending. You’re constantly aware of how open your mouth is, how visible your teeth are. As a result, you never get to fully engage in the life happening all around you. Even your brightest moments are shadowed by your efforts to hide your smile.
Over time, that constant focus on the negative can break you down. You may avoid engaging in activities you enjoy simply because you’re worried about how other people will react to you if you let a little grin slip through. That’s no way to live, and it ends up undermining your self-worth.
The Benefits of Embracing Confidence
Fortunately, whitening only requires a short office visit. Your dentist in Irvine will have a look at your teeth and make personalized recommendations to give you the best results. Within just a few sessions, you’ll be able to feel that curtain begin to lift. Once you can stop worrying about your teeth, you can start to build your confidence and embrace life without reservations.