An Impeccable Smile: The Key to Confidence, Self-Esteem, and a Positive Attitude

Key Takeaways

• Your mental, physical, and social health are all connected. When your oral health suffers, it can impact your mental and social health as well, and vice versa.
• Smiling can reduce stress, improve your mood, and increase your self-esteem. When you flash your pearly whites at others, they will most likely reciprocate which will make them feel good, too! 
• izzo makes it easy and convenient to maintain a sparkling smile. By helping your teeth stay white and bright, izzo can make you feel unstoppable!

The mind-body connection dictates that your mental, social, and physical health are intertwined. Meaning, an improvement or decline in any one of them can affect the others. Maintaining your smile is a great way to improve your physical and mental health and improve your mood!  

If that weren’t enough, a sparkling smile also has the power to lift the spirits of those around you and give you a radiating sense of self confidence. Both of which — rewarding social interactions and self-esteem — positively influence your overall health. So from a greater clean for your teeth to more confidence in your smile, your oral care actually affects your entire being.

Mental Health and Oral Health

There are a variety of conditions that can affect your mental health. From depression to anxiety, studies show that any type of mental health challenge can be connected to your overall physical health—oral health included.  

Nearly 5% of adults in the United States experience symptoms of depression on a regular basis1. It’s one of the most common mental illnesses in the United States, and it’s closely linked with poor oral health. People who suffer from depression are at higher risk for cavities, and tooth loss2.  

Depression isn’t the exception to the rule. In fact, increased risk for cavities, tooth loss, and erosion are also associated with anxiety, phobias, eating disorders, and more3, 4. Chronic gum disease is even linked to increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease5! 

There’s a wealth of data detailing this common manifestation of the mind-body connection, which indicates that there needs to be more emphasis on oral care for people who struggle with these disorders.  

Researchers have also amassed a lot of information indicating the opposite: poor oral health can lead to a decline in mental health. Dissatisfaction with your smile’s appearance or low quality dentures may make you feel self conscious. In addition to causing difficulty with speaking and eating, these circumstances are linked to social withdrawal and low self-esteem6. 

Self-esteem & Your Smile

The way you feel about your teeth has a direct impact on your self-esteem. As a result, many people engage in various oral health treatments to improve the look and feel of their smile. Preventive dental care, whitening, and straightening treatments all help improve the aesthetic appeal of your smile. In fact, studies show that young people with high self esteem brush their teeth and visit their dentist more frequently7!

At-home whitening treatments are one of the most accessible ways to improve how you feel about your smile. People who use whitening methods at home report higher self esteem, quality of life, and satisfaction with their smiles8. Add to that the key role that the color of your teeth play in perceived aesthetics, and it’s clear that an oral care routine that maintains a beautiful, white smile is all but essential for high self-esteem9. 

Smiling Reduces Stress

Taking care of your mental and oral health can help improve the status of both. When you look your best, you often feel your best as well. Having a bright and healthy smile is one way you can help bolster your self esteem, and in doing so, reduce stress.  

To test out the impact of smiling on a person’s mood, one study measured participants’ affect while completing a difficult task. Researchers instructed half of the participants to smile with chopsticks in their mouths. The other half of the group also had chopsticks in their mouths, but they weren’t given any directions about their facial expressions.  

Researchers found that study participants who smiled (whether they were told to or not) experienced lower stress levels than participants who didn’t10. The next time you’re faced with a difficult situation, try smiling to help reduce stress.

Improve Your Mood With A Smile

It turns out that “fake it ‘till you make it” rings true when it comes to a smile. Flashing your pearly whites, even when you aren’t feeling happy, can improve your mood. Likewise, the inability to frown reduces negative feelings in people who have reduced facial expressions resulting from cosmetic procedures to reduce wrinkles.  

Your facial expressions have a direct impact on your mood. When you smile, your brain releases a flood of feel-good transmitters including dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins. These promote a positive mood, while also lowering your blood pressure and heart rate11. In other words, smiling is good for you.  

Your smile’s mood-boosting effects are even infectious!  People mimic the facial expressions of those around them12. So, if someone reciprocates your smile, they will enjoy the benefits of smiling as well!

Maintain Your Smile With izzo

Taking care of your smile improves your confidence and self-esteem, all the while making you more approachable. It also helps you exude an aura of success and increases your trustworthiness in the eyes of others, making a robust oral care routine an influential  part of every aspect of your life13. 

The easiest way to ensure a healthy smile is to maintain your oral health at home in between regular dental visits. The izzo 4-in-1 Oral Care System makes it simple and convenient to maintain and improve your oral care from the comfort of your own bathroom.  

The Scaler is great for removing hard-to-reach food debris from between your teeth and around the gumline. Use the Oscillating Brush Head to achieve a superior clean with incredible efficiency. When you use izzo’s Polishing Cup Head as part of your regular oral care routine, you can remove surface stains 73% better than competitors, with 45% less abrasion, for a new level of clean and confidence without the aid of bleach14! Store your Oscillating Brush Head and Polishing Cup Head in the UVC Sanitizing Case between uses to kill any lingering germs, giving you even more reasons to smile!  

To learn more about how izzo can make your smile shine, we have tutorials to help you learn how to use each component. You can also read testimonials to learn how other people are using izzo to clean their teeth 93% better than other products15! 

Sources

1. Cademartori, M. G., Gastal, M. T., Nascimento, G. G., Demarco, F. F., & Corrêa, M. B. (2018). Is depression associated with oral health outcomes in adults and elders? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Oral Investigations, 22(8), 2685–2702. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-018-2611-y
2. Kisely, S., Sawyer, E., Siskind, D., & Lalloo, R. (2016). The oral health of people with anxiety and depressive disorders – a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 200, 119–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.04.040
3. Kisely, S. (2016). No Mental Health without Oral Health. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 61(5), 277–282. https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743716632523
4. Ilievski, V., Zuchowska, P. K., Green, S. J., Toth, P. T., Ragozzino, M. E., Le, K., … Watanabe, K. (2018). Chronic oral application of a periodontal pathogen results in brain inflammation, neurodegeneration and amyloid beta production in wild type mice. PLOS ONE, 13(10), e0204941. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0204941
5. Kisely, S. (2016). No Mental Health without Oral Health. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 61(5), 277–282. https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743716632523
6. Kraft, T. L., & Pressman, S. D. (2012). Grin and Bear It. Psychological Science, 23(11), 1372–1378. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612445312
7. Pazos, C.T.C., Austregésilo, S.C. and Goes, P.S.A. de (2019). Self-esteem and oral health behavior in adolescents. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 24(11), pp.4083–4092. https://doi.org/ 10.1590/1413-812320182411.02492018
8. Bersezio, C., Martín, J., Herrera, A., Loguercio, A., & Fernández, E. (2018). The effects of at-home whitening on patients’ oral health, psychology, and aesthetic perception. BMC Oral Health, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-018-0668-2
9. Van der Geld, P., Oosterveld, P., Van Heck, G., & Kuijpers-Jagtman, A. M. (2007). Smile Attractiveness. The Angle Orthodontist, 77(5), 759–765. https://doi.org/10.2319/082606-349
10. Kraft, T. L., & Pressman, S. D. (2012). Grin and Bear It. Psychological Science, 23(11), 1372–1378. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612445312
11. There’s Magic in Your Smile. (2012). Retrieved from Psychology Today website: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201206/there-s-magic-in-your-smile
12. Seibt, B., Mühlberger, A., Likowski, K. U., & Weyers, P. (2015). Facial mimicry in its social setting. Frontiers in Psychology, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01122
13. Schmidt, K., Levenstein, R., & Ambadar, Z. (2012). Intensity of Smiling and Attractiveness as Facial Signals of Trustworthiness in Women. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 114(3), 964–978. https://doi.org/10.2466/07.09.21.pms.114.3.964-978
14. Based on average stain removal and abrasion of 26 advanced cleaning/whitening toothpastes from leading brands
15. As measured by the Cleaning Efficiency Index (ratio of stain removal to dental abrasion) of 26 advanced cleaning/whitening toothpastes
16. FastStats - Depression. (2019). Retrieved from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/depression.htm
17. Marmolejo-Ramos, F., Murata, A., Sasaki, K., Yamada, Y., Ikeda, A., Hinojosa, J. A., … Ospina, R. (2020). Your Face and Moves Seem Happier When I Smile. Experimental Psychology, 67(1), 14–22. https://doi.org/10.1027/1618-3169/a000470