Menopausal Mother

     As most of you know, I'm all about humor and providing plenty of smiles. What you might not know about me though, is that I once worked as a dental assistant many years ago, and I know the importance of being able to smile without worrying about how your teeth look.

     Please welcome my guest, Dr. Bach, on the site today who is here to stress the importance of good dental health, which is critical to maintaining your pearly whites!  

When we’re happy, we smile – it’s just a fact. Whether we’re spending time with friends and family, listening to our favorite song, watching the latest episode of the latest binge-worthy show, or savoring a slice of the best cheesecake in the world, doing something you love just puts a smile on your face. Don’t think it’s true? Here are four common points between smiling and love that are sure to get you grinning.

Both Are Contagious

Let’s face it – if you’re around smiling people all day, you’re liable to start smiling yourself. Good moods have always been contagious, as it’s hard to maintain even the most long-brewing pout when everywhere you go there’s just happiness everywhere.

Love is often the same. When it’s expansive and mutual, whether it’s between long-married spouses, treasured children and grandchildren, or lifelong friends, enduring love just tends to be contagious. That’s one thing nobody should mind catching!

Both Are Natural Painkillers

This isn’t a case of tough love or smiling through the pain – both smiling and experiencing pain have been clinically proven to provide pain relief. This might sound like some of the mind control malarkey you might have run across in the 1970s, but it’s not magic – it’s just brain chemistry.

It doesn’t matter if you’re head over heels in love with your spouse, filled with joy at the sight of a grandchild, or if you’re watching your favorite movie and you’ve been smiling and laughing nonstop for two hours straight, these actions trigger the release of neurotransmitters in your brain. Known as endorphins (and having a reputation as nature’s pain killers), these brain chemicals heighten and intensify positive moods, making them feel pleasurable – and often wipe out any aches and pains you might be feeling at the same time. Isn’t science wonderful?

Both Make You Look – and Feel – Younger

No one will ever deny that experiencing and feeling love can make you feel young at heart. There’s research to back this up, as married couples in deep, committed relationships tend to live longer – and have happier lives – than those who are perpetually single. Of course, if you’re not married to someone you love, it might be time to change; you don’t want to be miserable the rest of your life, do you?

Meanwhile, scientists say smiling can also lead to longevity benefits. Forget any stress caused by laugh lines for now – smiling and laughing regularly induce physiological changes in your body that help to reduce stress, making you feel healthier. Plus, a genuine smile can take years off your face, but the opposite is also true. Just as spending your time with people who don’t love you brings you down, going for hours or days without smiling robs you of its physical benefits.

Both Need to Be Taken Care of

Love is great, love is grand, but love doesn’t manage itself. Maintaining healthy relationships with your closest loved ones may not require extreme micromanagement, but you do need to work at it by spending quality time with the people in your life that lift your spirits when you’re around them. Otherwise, relationships have a tendency to dry up and disappear – like a potted plant you forgot to water.

Your smile is much the same – your pearly whites won’t brush themselves. Dental health is pretty important, especially since it’s hard to grin and bear it when you feel self-conscious about the state of your smile. Just like you need to check in regularly with your friends and family members to build love, you’ve got to check in with your dentist often to maintain your smile. If you happen to live in Montreal, you can contact Dr.Bach by clicking here.