A beautiful smile comes with many benefits. It can make you look approachable and confident, boost your self-esteem, and improve your mood. The perfect smile will give you that youthful appearance and spark good feelings in others. The list goes on.
However, not everyone can smile without hesitation. It makes sense to be worried about flashing a smile when you have crooked, chipped, missing, or discoloured teeth. The good news is you can overcome such imperfections, regain confidence, and enjoy life with a few lifestyle changes and help from your dentist.
Anatomy Of An Attractive Smile
Your smile has the power to communicate and let the people around you know your feelings. It can tell people if you’re happy, confident, reluctant, sincere, embarrassed, or feeling insecure.
A bright and pleasant smile gives away a bubbly or friendly personality that almost always quickly draws other people’s attention, whilst a timid or forced smile typically creates an aloof impression.
In cosmetic dentistry, the perfect smile is a combination of several factors. It starts with the health and appearance of your gums. Of course, the colour, shape, alignment, and spacing in your teeth play a crucial role. Your smile line and the shape of your lips can also make your smile look more alluring. You must consider these main factors when signing up for a smile makeover. This process improves the appearance of a smile through one or more cosmetic dental procedures that include teeth whitening, veneers, dental implants, and bonding.
Besides the abovementioned features, your facial structure, skin tone, and hair colour are components that may affect which smile makeover options will be suitable for you. It’s always best to work with a licensed dentist whether you want to attain a better smile or improve your oral health.
Our experienced dentists at Leichhardt Dental and Leichhardt Dental in Haberfield will be happy to walk you through the treatment options available, provide dental tips unique to your situation, and create a personalised approach based on your goals. Before starting any procedure, they will perform a general assessment of your oral health.
Your Perfect Smile Tips
An attractive smile begins with good oral hygiene. So, it’s essential to keep your teeth and mouth healthy. Here are some dental care tips to achieve optimum oral health and the best smiles that will make you proud.
1. Brush your teeth twice a day
You must have heard of this constant reminder ages ago when your mum would nag you to brush your teeth after a meal and before going to bed. It’s an important habit to live by to maintain healthy teeth. Regular brushing keeps your teeth strong and helps them stay whiter.
2. Make daily flossing a habit
Food morsels can get stuck between your teeth, and proper brushing is not always enough to get rid of them. Leaving them alone can lead to plaque and tartar build-up, which causes gum disease, tooth decay, and even tooth loss.
3. Cut back on sugary and acidic beverages
Coffee, tea, wine, and soda contribute to plaque – a sticky film of bacteria that forms in the teeth. Not only does it contain acids that destroy tooth enamel, but it also stains the teeth. People who heavily consume these drinks are likely to develop more plaque. Reducing consumption or using a straw when drinking your favourite soda can help lessen its unfavourable impact on oral health. If possible, brush your teeth soon after consuming these beverages to keep bacteria from mixing with acids and forming plaque.
4. Quit smoking
Tobacco is another reason for tooth discolouration. They also cause bad breath and may increase your risk of developing other oral health issues like tooth loss and gum disease.
5. Visit your dentist regularly
Many people delay or forgo seeing a dentist because of dental anxiety. It could be due to a past traumatic experience, fear of pain, or horror stories from friends and family. Good thing many dental health clinics nowadays are designed for patients’ comfort. Also, the latest dental technology has made some oral treatments less intimidating.
Checking in with your dentist every six months will help you catch gum disease and detect cavities early, which means you have a better chance of keeping your beautiful smile. A licensed dentist has the experience and tools to assess your overall oral health and determine other suitable dental services you may need.
How To Smile Better
The most beautiful smile in the world is neither inborn nor created overnight. It’s made through good oral hygiene, discipline, the right attitude, and the help of a licensed dentist and oral hygienist.
For a naturally beautiful smile, keep your face relaxed. Open your mouth slightly and smile gently. Avoid pushing your upper teeth against your lower teeth in an attempt to make them align perfectly. Doing so will cause muscle tension in your neck. Instead, keep some space between your top and bottom teeth.
If you don’t feel confident showing off your teeth because of discolouration or missing and chipped teeth, consider talking to your dentist. There are several dental procedures available to address different oral and smile problems.
Teeth whitening, for instance, is one of the standard oral procedures performed in smile makeovers. One way to go about it involves the application of whitening gel. Our Leichhardt dentist can do it for you, or you can choose to do it yourself in the comfort of your home with instructions from your oral hygienist. However, this procedure doesn’t work on fillings, crowns, bridges, false teeth, tooth decay, and veneers.
Our dentist in Leichhardt or Haberfield can fix tooth decay, chips, and cavities with the application of a resin composite. Also called dental bonding, this cosmetic dentistry procedure bonds tooth-coloured resin to your teeth using a special light. It covers up minor defects on the affected tooth’s surface.
Another type of cosmetic dentistry that may give you that winning smile are veneers. These are thin, custom-made shells put over the outer surface of the teeth to cover defects. In this procedure, our dentist will remove a thin layer from your teeth’s surface to bond the veneer material.
It’s important to emphasise that not everyone can be a good candidate for the abovementioned procedures. If you want to know more about these treatments or other options for achieving a brighter smile and maintaining good oral health, please see our dentist or book your appointment today at Leichhardt Dental or Leichhardt Dental in Haberfield.