Monthly Archive June 2021

By1st Choice

How to Create a Winning Smile by Star Whitening

‘You’ll find life is still worthwhile if you just smile!’ ~ Charlie Chaplin

Ahh the winning smile; a smile that can melt your heart or bring you falling to your knees in love and can even pull an audience into sitting up straighter and listen more closely.

Smiling brings about so much joy and can change someone’s day, a smile and a cheery good morning can brighten anyone’s mood and you’ll never know it may be the only kindness a person can experience in their day.

It was Mother Theresa who famously once said, ‘we shall never know all the good we can do with a simple smile’.

What is a smile?

The dictionary says it is to ‘form one’s features into a pleased, kind, or amused expression, typically with the corners of the mouth turned up and the front teeth exposed’ but more than it’s not just what it is, but what it can do.

Smiling is up there with the biggest stress busters there are, proven to reduce stress and create positivity by stimulating the brain’s reward mechanisms. In fact, not even chocolate can raise as much positivity in our brains and that is saying something! In short smiling makes our brain feel good and radiates a positive energy to those around us.

There is an outdated theory that a smile can make you weak, but how can it really make you weak if you can use it to light up a room, or brighten someone else’s day?

Another ancient smiling theory floating about is that women smile more than men with no explanation attached to this statement we wonder if it is because that in general women spend more time with children whose default is to smile, and women spend a lot of time with each other. What do you think? Please leave your comments below.

It is not documented but either way we believe at Star Whitening that smiling is for everyone!

The Perfect Winning Smile

Conjure up in your mind’s eye the perfect smile and what comes to mind?

Is it the model in a close-up photoshoot for a glossy magazine or your favourite celebrities being interviewed on the red carpet flashing a dazzling white smile displaying perfectly straight white teeth?

Some of the most famous smiles in the media are so infectious, who can help but smile along with Julia Roberts and her wide beaming white smile, or Cameron Diaz, Dwayn Johnson (the Rock)?

One of the most famous smiles worldwide is that of the smile on the Mona Lisa, could this be why the painting is so popular?

Julia Roberts is quoted as saying ‘it isn’t about the smile, it’s about what is behind the smile!’

The smile is reflected in the eyes, it brings a sense of contentment, happiness, confidence, and an ease of being. Quite simply the smile is one of the most important aspects of social behaviour and can give off many messages; the nervous smile, the fake smile, the genuine smile, the smile of pure joy, one of laughter and smiling even through sadness.

The psychological benefit of smiling

Smiling is not something to be ignored as the psychological benefits list is long and full of feel-good positives.

• Smiling boosts mood. This is such a plus. Feeling blue? Then think of a happy memory and pull those corners of your mouth up and smile and you may even boost someone else’s mood too!
• Stress levels reduced. We have said it before, but the stress levels you may be feeling are guaranteed to be reduced by smiling as the act reminds the brain of a happy memory so when we smile the brain triggers the good stuff!
• Smiling is contagious. How often are you around a smiling person and you cannot help but mimic their mood?
• Smiling makes a person more creative. The brain is triggered into positive mode which means creativity is heightened.
• It is an easy fix! What do we mean by this, well smiling will pull you out of a bad mood, try it when you next feel in the doldrums.
• Smiling can make you live longer. Makes perfect sense, if it can lower stress levels then it increases happiness, boosting your immune system, lowering your blood pressure and you begin to radiate positivity. The more you smile then the more chance you have of extending your life.
• The smile instantly makes you more attractive. Look in the mirror and smile … see your eyes light up and you face lift!
  Increases confidence! We saved this for last as so many will know that smiling suggests success and therefore confidence. In turn this will bring connection and draw people to you as you radiate a positive and healthy energy.

Feeling good is all about smiling as it triggers the brain and body connection in the left frontal cortex of our brains, and this is where are happiness is stored! This is even scientifically proven with a study called the FACS – Facial Action Coding System – where your face’s 42 muscles flex and moves are measured.

Your face can make 5000 different expressions and each one has a different effect on the brain to body connection. Smiling uses just 14 of these muscles but has the most positive influence on our emotional state of mind!

So how do you create a winning and healthy smile for yourself?

The basics really are rudimental in how you go about taking care of your oral health, are you giving those pearly whites what they truly deserve?

At the very least brushing your teeth twice a day for two minutes is a must, using floss between meals and keeping fresh with mouth wash.

Two trips a year to your dentist to sort out any problems are also a must, and we all know no matter how fearful we may be of our dentist that prevention of disease is better than sorting out the problem once it has hit.

Dentists get such a bad rap with 80%* of Britain’s population terrified of going to see a dentist but let’s face it we use our teeth for a lot of chewing and leave them wide open for attacks from sugar, tea and coffee as well as alcohol consumption, they help shape our faces and without them we would have trouble talking too!

Have you thought about gum health? Our gums are what keep our teeth strong and can easily fall foul of gum disease, but it is good to know it is preventable. Flossing every day helps stop that build-up of plague, see a hygienist for the ultimate clean, and obviously do not smoke.

What goes into our mouths can help our teeth too. Teeth need calcium to keep them strong so calcium rich foods like milk and yoghurts are great. Our teeth also need vitamin C, and we can get this from eating tomatoes, melon, carrots and apples. Simple oral health basics will help you go a long way to perfecting your smile.

We must not neglect our mouths either! Gently brush your lips to exfoliate them with a toothbrush or a lip scrub then use a balm to moisturise them as often as you can remember! Don’t forget to drink water! Rehydrating yourself will plump up those luscious lips instead of a flat dehydrated look!

Teeth Whitening Trends

Once the basics are all part of your routine you are good to smile away unless you are self-conscious your teeth have discoloured due to age or consumption of too many foods that stain. Then the teeth whitening route could be for you.

This is a hugely popular trend at the moment as it brightens the duller smile and gives the impression that a person has a good deal of self-respect and points to a healthy lifestyle. There are a lot of whitening options to choose from.

• Whitening gels. These gels rely on a chemical reaction for whitening and can be applied with whitening strips or a tooth tray. Getting a customised tray is more beneficial as they are moulded to your unique set of teeth and will get the best results. Buying a standard tray can result in an uneven finish.
• Hydrogen & Carbamide Peroxide. Very popular with the younger crowd it is available off the shelf however despite getting a great result these wear off very quickly, so it is worth noting this route of whitening teeth has a very short-term effect. It is also prone to irritate the gums.
• Whitening toothpaste. A gentle and slow way to take off light stains from your teeth.
• Fruit. Scientifically this is correct! Strawberries, lemons and banana peel are all meant to help whitened teeth through the natural acids they carry however, these can also cause tooth decay.
• Oil pulling. Using coconut oil to take off dirt and release trapped food, but this is not a scientifically proven tooth whitening process.
• Bicarbonate of soda. This has been an addition to oral health for a while but only as a little extra power alongside using fluoride toothpaste.
• Activated Charcoal. A little like Bicarbonate of soda charcoal has an abrasive effect.
• Home Light System. This is a method that uses LED or UV lights. Used on their own is not effective, they need to be used with an activating chemical. The lights have a similar effect as the whitening gel.
• Professional Laser treatment. A stronger, faster, and safer system to the at home system which produce excellent instant results after just one hour. You can book treatment here.
• Consultation. Whilst there are many at home kits and fixes out there it is best to ask your dentist or a dental professional for recommendations.

Let’s Perfect that Winning Smile!

Life has a habit of making us ‘weighted down’ and we can often forget to smile as we carry around all the to do lists, worries and work with us. When we are children, we find the joy in almost everything and smiling is a huge part of our day but as an adult we lose that joy, but did you know that smiling can be relearnt?

One famous model that is a go to for smiling tips is Tyra Banks and she also coined the term to ‘smize’ which is to smile with the eyes as well as the mouth to radiate a more genuine smile.

She is right, just using the orbicularis oris (mouth muscles) with give you the social smile but add in the orbicularis oculi (eye muscles) and ta da you have a genuine smile that will light up your face! Tyra is also quoted as saying, ‘A smile is the most important thing you will ever wear!’ We agree!

There is a lot of talk the genuine and fake smiles, but whichever smile is on any persons face the sentiment behind it is always kind even if you are smiling to say hello to someone you don’t know as you are being polite and kind or smiling to say thank you to your dentist – you didn’t want to go but the dentist will have sorted out your teeth for you!

Whatever the cause of the smile you can guarantee the result is that our wellbeing is lifted.

Find a mirror and relax all those facial muscles (there are a whopping 42 of them so rub your cheeks a little to make sure they are relaxed) and your shoulders too. Think of something that brings you joy.

Widen your eyes and raise your eyebrows a little and pulling the corners of your mouth upwards start to smile flashing some teeth to make it more genuine. Practice daily and soon it will come naturally and the more you practice the more you smile without thinking and voila you have perfected a winning smile!

One final thought on smiling, Phyllis Diller, a groundbreaking American comedian and actress once said, ‘a smile is a curve that sets everything straight’ and there is not a truer fact! Smile and the world smiles with you.

We would love to hear your comments so please feel free to have your say below:)