4 Ways Smiling Improves Our Health!! :)

WE’VE ALL HEARD the old cliché that it takes more muscles to frown than to smile, so you should smile to conserve energy! That’s actually false. It takes a minimum of ten muscles to smile but only a minimum of six to frown, so the expression should really be “smile to burn calories!” But smiling will do much more for your health than just giving your face a workout.

Here’s four ways smiling benefits our health.

#1: Reduces Pain

Smiling releases endorphins, which are our bodies’ feel-good hormones. They serve as natural painkillers with no side-effects. What’s particularly interesting about this is that it’s the smile itself that releases the endorphins, not the attitude behind it.

Our brains are so hard-wired to associate smiling with joy that even a fake smile will get you the chemical benefits. So whenever you get injured, it really is a good idea to grin and bear it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyMHt1Gw5rE

#2: Relieves Stress

Another thing the endorphins released by smiling do for you is help relieve stress. A study in 2012 tested how quickly subjects’ heart rates could go back to normal after performing a stressful task. One group was instructed to hold a pencil between their teeth (which forces a smile) and the other was instructed to hold the pencil between their lips (which forces a neutral expression). The subjects with the biggest smiles recovered the fastest.

This goes back to the way our brains react to smiles. We don’t just smile when we’re happy; smiling can actually make us happy, which means you really can “fake it till you make it” when it comes to smiling!

#3: Boosts Our Immune System

Relieving tension and stress by smiling can have a profound cumulative impact on your health. It can make you more resilient against illness and it can even reduce your chances of getting cancer by lowering the number of stress-induced mutations your cells go through.

#4: Increases Longevity

Smiling doesn’t just make you look younger and more attractive; it can also add years to your lifespan. Taking advantage of every opportunity to smile (and then some) could make you live up to seven years longer!

Let Those Smiles Shine!

As adults, we average a paltry 20 smiles per day, while children will light up with a smile 400 times in that same day! Imagine the health benefits we could rack up if we could start smiling like we did when we were kids? Some people keep their smiles to themselves because they aren’t happy with the way their teeth look, but we can help you get and keep a smile you’ll be proud to show off.

Our biggest reason to smile? Our patients!

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

What Is An Orthodontic Assistant?

PEOPLE ARE COMMONLY CONFUSED about what the exact role of an orthodontic assistant is. We want to set the record straight (just like we do your teeth)! Our orthodontic assistants are an invaluable part of our team and practice–to be honest, we couldn’t get much done without them!

Orthodontic Assistants Are Specially Trained To Serve You

We are committed to training our assistants on the job to establish a trusting rapport & ensuring a positive dental experience with our patients; all while maintaining a clean and safe working environment per OSHA standards.  Throughout our patient's treatment, our team will assist Dr. Kevin with patient care, take impressions & 3-D scans & photographs, place & remove brackets, fit & cement bands, change arch wires and deliver orthodontic appliances.  As well as provide good oral hygiene practices, such as tooth-brushing & flossing techniques. 

Our assistants are trained & licensed through the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) to take X-rays with our digital 3-D Panorex & Conebeam Imaging System.  

Our orthodontic assistants are specially trained to serve YOU–our valued patients!

Our Patients Are Our Priority

Our priority is providing the highest quality of care to our patients. And we couldn’t do it without the amazing orthodontic assistants in our office! Do you have any questions for our assistants? Let us know in the comments below!

As always, thank you for choosing our practice. We love our patients!

www.coghlanorthodontics.com