Your smile reveals a lot about you. It tells others if you’re happy or not! It also tells them if you’re self-conscious or if you are confident. If you’re not smiling because of the state of your smile, you may feel emotional or upset. Don’t stress. Instead, consider having your smile improved with emotional dentistry so you feel better about yourself.
What Is Emotional Dentistry?
Emotional dentistry is defined as the art and science of improving the appearance of the smile, which in turn helps you feel better about yourself.
Emotional dentistry focuses on giving you a smile that represents who you are and helps you overcome issues such as misaligned teeth, gummy smiles or gaps/spaces. Emotional dentistry can also benefit patients who are living with a deformed jaw or craniofacial disorder, cleft palate, or trauma from an accident or injury.
Emotional dentistry isn’t just about the use of cosmetic dental procedures to change the smile. It’s also about changing how you feel about yourself and your smile.
Smiles and Self-Esteem
A smile can be an outward sign of happiness, but it can also reflect inner feelings. Smiling has been shown to have positive effects on mood. When you smile, your brain releases endorphins, chemicals that give us a feeling of well-being. This means that when you smile at someone, they will likely return the favor. A smile from another person can help boost your own confidence.
But if you don’t love your smile, it shows. You might smile for other people, but you won’t smile for yourself. And this lack of self-confidence could affect your overall outlook on life and make you avoid smiling, laughing or being around others.
Dental Treatments to Make Over Your Smile and Improve Self-Esteem
There are many different ways to improve your smile. They include:
Teeth Whitening. Teeth whitening is one of the most popular treatments for enhancing the look of your smile. The process involves using a special light to bleach stains off your tooth enamel.
Gum Contouring. Gum contouring is a way to reshape gum tissue to create more space between your teeth. This gives your teeth a more even shape and makes them appear straighter.
Gum-Lifts. Gum-lifts are used to lift up areas where there is too much tissue. This makes more of your tooth surface visible and can help create a more even look for your smile.
Veneers. Veneers are thin pieces of porcelain placed over the front surface of your teeth. These are bonded to your natural teeth and cover any imperfections.
Bonding. Bonding is a procedure that uses composite resin material to repair cracked, chipped or discolored teeth.
Crowns. Crowns are made out of metal or porcelain and are placed over damaged or broken teeth.
Dental Implants. Dental implants are small titanium posts that replace missing teeth. They are placed in the jawbone and allow you to eat and speak normally.
Orthodontics. Orthodontic treatment is done to straighten crooked teeth. This may involve braces, clear aligners or Invisalign®.
More Than Looks
Emotional dentistry is about more than how your smile looks. It’s also about how you feel about your smile and seeing value in taking care of your dental health and how that benefits your mental health. If you’re not happy with your smile, you’ll probably see little point in making changes. But if you’re looking forward to having a beautiful smile, you’ll want to take action.
Patient Education. Emotional dentistry involves education of the patient and their adoption of practicing oral health self-care habits such as brushing and flossing regularly. This means getting the patient to be an active participant in their own oral health/overall health outcomes.
Understanding the Goal. Emotional dentistry also helps patients understand that there is a reason for these dental procedures and that the end result will be a smile they love. Patients need to know what the goal of their treatment is so they can understand why they need to follow through with recommended treatment steps.
Treatment Planning. Once the goals are understood, the next step is to develop a plan for achieving those goals. Treatment planning includes determining which type of treatment (e.g., cosmetic vs. restorative) is best suited for each individual case.
The End Result. Finally, it’s important to explain the results of the treatment to the patient. This allows them to visualize the final outcome and gain confidence in their new smile.
As you can see, emotional dentistry is about more than just a pretty smile. It’s about helping people achieve a healthy lifestyle through proper oral hygiene practices. And when we work together, we can help our patients get the smile they’ve always wanted!
We’ll develop a treatment plan for you and talk to you about our approach to dentistry.