The smiley face: It’s been around forever. Except it hasn’t—someone created it. No, not Forrest Gump (but good guess!), but graphic artist Harvey Ball in 1963 to help boost employee morale at an insurance company. Do you know what else Harvey Ball came up with? World Smile Day: Beginning in 1999, Ball began promoting the first Friday in October as a day to encourage smiles and acts of kindness. But there’s no need to limit smiles to one day. We hope you treat every day as World Smile Day—to make your corner of the world a little brighter.
What can you do to show your support? Well to begin with, smile—a lot. And also do things to make other people smile. We don’t want you to hold back because you’re not completely satisfied with your smile. If you’d like to get that wonderful smile of yours in better shape, here are some ideas:
Have your teeth professionally cleaned. Having your teeth cleaned at the dental office is one of the best things you can do to prevent dental disease. Dental plaque makes your teeth look dull and dingy and can lead to gum disease and cavities. A professional cleaning to rid your teeth of any built-up plaque and tartar (hardened plaque) with a follow-up polish can help your teeth look great!
Brighten up your smile. You can turn up the brightness volume on your teeth with a tooth whitening application. There are whitening products you can buy over the counter, but for best results see your dentist for a professional whitening. Dentists can better control the degree of brightness and their professional-grade solutions often last longer.
Upgrade your teeth’s appearance. You may have a great looking smile—except for that chip, discoloration or slight gap between a couple of teeth. There are a number of ways, many quite affordable, to improve your teeth’s appearance. Your dentist can bond color-matched composite resin to your teeth to “fill in” chips or other blemishes. And a veneer, a thin layer of porcelain bonded to the face of a tooth, can mask mild to moderate dental blemishes.
There are other “smile changers” like orthodontics, crowns or dental implants that are a bit more extensive. Depending on your needs and expectations, these can give you a “smile makeover” that will get you ready for future World Smile Days.
In the meantime, talk to us about how you can perk up your smile. An attractive smile is much easier to share with the world.
If you would like more information about smile enhancements, please contact us to schedule a consultation.
