What does your smile say about you? did you know studies have found that potential employers look at teeth to determine how professional and trust worthy you are? Or can't seem to land a date with that smirk? Check out this article on WebMD and see how your smile effects your life! 
http://www.webmd.com/beauty/lips-smile/smile-personality 

What Does Your Smile Say About You?
By Joanne Barker
Reviewed by Alfred D. Wyatt Jr., DMD
WebMD Feature

Want to succeed in business, fill up your social calendar, and get more romance into your life? One secret may be in your smile.

Your smile simple, straightforward, and most important, sincere -- can attract more than admiring looks. A smiling face tells people that you’re an outgoing and intelligent person worth getting to know.

"When someone has a big smile, it shows they’re willing to open up and expose a part of themselves," says Pamela McClain, DDS, a past president of the American Academy of Periodontology. Over the long term, smiling can benefit your health, perception at work, social life, and romantic status.  With that much at stake, it's worthwhile to discover what your smile is saying about you -- and how to interpret the smiles flashed your way.

Smiling Eyes Aren't Just for the Irish 
Many Americans look at the mouth to judge a person’s mood, but people smile for all sorts of reasons: anger, fear, embarrassment, confusion, to deceive. It’s really your eyes that give you away.

The muscles around the eyes can’t be forced to look happy. When people smile for real, their cheeks rise and the skinaround their eyes bunches up. In fact, in certain countries where suppressing emotion is a cultural norm, people look more at each other’s eyes to gauge emotion.

A Smile Makes You Look Successful 
"A smile conveys confidence and professionalism," says Lily T. Garcia, DDS, a past president of the American College of Prosthodontists. People who project a positive outlook are generally more open and flexible. They tend to cope better with challenges than people who are withdrawn and unsmiling.

A study that followed a group of women for 30 years shows the lifetime benefits of smiling. The women who displayed genuinely happy smiles in their college yearbook photos went on to have happier marriages and greater well-being.

In the same study, a group of strangers looked at the college photos and reported their assumptions about the women’s personalities. The women who smiled were judged to be more positive and competent than those who didn’t.

Turn That Frown Upside DownWant to be happy? Just smile. Believe it or not, forcing yourself to smile can actually make you happier.

Paul Ekman, PhD, a psychologist who is an expert in facial expressions, taught himself to arrange the muscles in his face to make certain expressions. To his surprise, he found himself feeling the emotions that he was mimicking. When he raised his cheeks, parted his lips, and turned the corners of his mouth up, he felt happier.

Ekman and his research partner went on to do a study of college students to see if they, too, would feel happier by making themselves smile. The researchers measured the students’ brain activity while the students followed instructions to smile using the muscles in their cheeks and around their mouths.

Whether the students smiled spontaneously or on purpose, the activity in their brains was virtually the same. They felt happy.

Smile Anxiety
Chipped or missing teeth, fillings, or discolored teeth are unveiled when your lips part to smile -- so some people simply avoid it.

If you find yourself wanting to cover up your smile, you could be holding yourself back in more ways than you realize. "Life is much more challenging for people who are so self-conscious about their teeth they don’t want to smile," McClain says. Make a date with your dentist to talk about your concerns and potential corrections. Many dental problems can be fixed.

One of McClain’s patients with excess gum tissue was ashamed of her short-looking teeth. "We did a procedure called crown lengthening, and it was amazing what a difference it made,” McClain says. “She was so much more self-confident."
If you aren't pleased with your smile then let us at Wall Family Dentistry give you the one you deserve!


SOURCES:

Harker, L. Journal of personality and social psychology, January 2001.

Pamela McClain, DDS, Aurora, CO; past president, American Academy of Periodontology.

Lyubomirsky, S. Psychological bulletin, 2005.

LaFrance, M. Lip Service: Smiles in Life, Death, Trust, Lies, Work, Memory, Sex, and Politics, W.W. Norton, 2011.

Ekman, P. Emotions Revealed: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life, Holt, 2004.

Yuki, M. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, March 2007.

Lily T. Garcia, DDS, associate dean for education, prosthodontics department, University of Iowa; past president, American College of Prosthodontists.

Ekman, P. Psychological Science, September 1993.

Columbia University College of Dental Medicine: "Whiter Teeth: What Works?"

American Dental Association: "Tooth Whitening."

American Academy of Periodontology: "Dental Crown Lengthening Procedure," "Procedures for Treating Gum Disease."

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research: "Periodontal (Gum) Disease: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments."

American College of Prosthodontists: "Bridges, Crowns and Dental Implants."


Reviewed on June 23, 2014

© 2012 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

To Continue our health month at Wall Family Dentistry here is the effect of your oral health on your body...

Common diseases or problems that can occur in our mouths include decay/cavities of the teeth, tooth abscess, and periodontal disease. Although these are diseases of your mouth, they can have an effect on the overall health of your body. 

Tooth decay/cavities: Tooth decay occurs from acid deposited by bacteria that is found in the mouth. Carbohydrates, sugar, and acid from food activate this bacteria and cause holes to form in the teeth; thereby creating a cavity. Generally, cavities penetrate the enamel (the outer layer of the tooth) but can penetrate deeper into the soft layers in the tooth. How does this affect your health? Unhealthy foods have more of the products that activate the bacteria, therefore not only is it going to your hips but through your teeth!  Cavities can promote a lack of confidence to smile in public places, jobs, or interviews.  Also if the decay is too great for the structure of the tooth, it will cause pain forcing you to change eating habits. Then without treatment the tooth will be lost, causing more stress on the other teeth to make up the difference in load. Brushing, flossing, fluoride, and regular visits to your dentist will prevent this problem.

Tooth Abscess:  Tooth Abscess is created by untreated cavities, trauma, or a broken tooth.   Once a tooth abscess has been diagnosed by your dental professional, treatment is either an extraction or a root canal. Most of the time the root canal will solve the problem, however, occasionally the tooth will not respond to treatment, and could eventually result in tooth loss. How can this affect your overall health? Infection found anywhere in the body including the mouth can spread throughout the body.  An untreated abscess can result in the infection spreading into your face or skull.  In serious cases, these infections could even become life threatening without treatment.   Regular dental check-ups, and homecare will decrease the chance of infection and the need of a root canal.   


Periodontal disease: This is a disease that affects the soft and hard tissues in the mouth. It can be generated by lack of homecare, diabetes, smoking, and genetics. This disease is the number one cause of tooth loss. In its active state, periodontal disease destroys the bone that surrounds teeth resulting in mobility that cannot withstand chewing force. Once you have periodontal disease, you will always have it, and you will always need to work hard to maintain the remaining supporting structure of bone supporting your teeth.

Periodontal disease causes the immune systems need to continually fight off bacteria in the mouth instead of the rest of the body. Periodontal disease can also be linked to low birth weight babies.  It also affects your overall health with causing a two times greater risk of developing heart disease.  Additionally, the presence of high bacteria levels does have the ability to clog arteries. Periodontal disease can also attack joint replacements in the body.  It is very important that if you have this disease that you follow the instructions of your health care provider and dentist to prevent and limit future problems.

 Next time you’re in the office, ask us about how we can better help you with your dental care and keep your overall body free from infections and diseases.

Here at Wall Family Dentistry we have started our Awareness Month! our focus is fitness health so we took the...
WEDNESDAY FITNESS CHALLENGE!
Every Wednesday in August slightly leading into September 8/6-9/24 we are going to do a fitness race either walking, running, jogging, anywhere, and everywhere. The Fun thing about this is even though summer is coming to a close soon we are still enjoying getting out! Total health is a huge part of dental health. Did you know Carrots actually work out the fibers holding your teeth? Interesting right?
If you'd like to join us in our fitness challenge send us a picture of your family fitness, take a "selfie" picture of your self being healthy, or send us a short story about getting out and doing something physically fit to wallfamilydentistry2014@gmail.com   We will post your pictures/ short stories and our finale pictures after our fitness challenge on the blog to encourage others on overall health.

To get you started here is a Healthy recipe so you can give your teeth some healthy exercise as well as good nutrition for your body.

Strawberry spinach salad

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 4-6 servings










Ingredients

Dressing:
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 to 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• garlic salt or garlic powder
• salt and pepper
Salad:
• one package (10 oz) fresh spinach (about 10 cups of torn leaves)
• 4 cups sliced fresh strawberries (cleaned and hulled)
• 1 cup avocado, chopped
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 mango, sliced
• 1/4 cup cashews

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the dressing ingredients, and whisk together well. Add salt and pepper to taste. You can serve the dressing immediately or you can cover it and chill for an hour.
2. In a large bowl, combine all of the salad ingredients, except the cashew nuts. Add the dressing to the salad and toss. Sprinkle cashew nuts on top of the salad.

2.5http://juliasalbum.com/2014/06/strawberry-spinach-salad/