Some would say that the eyes are the windows to the soul. However, we should not forget the impact that a smile can have on one’s face. A beautiful smile tells of an entire personality. It welcomes conversation and friendship. This is why dental work is so famous – from teeth whitening to teeth crowns, dentures and more – people love a beautiful smile.
There are things we can do to make our smile more beautiful (all smiles are already beautiful). It can involve more than you may think (such as taking care of the lips and the skin around the mouth). In this article we will explain how to create a beautiful smile.
1) Keep teeth and gums clean with dental hygiene
Dental hygiene and cleanliness is pertinent to maintaining a beautiful, welcoming and healthy smile. Brushing and flossing daily can keep bacteria and plaque out of teeth and gums, which can prolong their service to you. They will stay strong, and are less likely to yellow when taken care of properly. So can using a mouthwash. If you can, use an electric toothbrush, to remove more plaque than with a regular toothbrush.
Visiting the dentist on a regular schedule can also help to maintain the health of teeth and gums. Dentists and their dental assistants can do a ‘deep clean’ of your teeth and gums, to keep them even healthier and more vibrant. Most recommend a visit every 6 months, but your dentist will advise on a schedule that’s right for you, based on your existing gum and tooth health.
2) Consider teeth whitening
If you smoke, drink a lot of coffee or consume foods that stain teeth, you may have yellowing teeth. Likewise, teeth can yellow if they are not cleaned regularly, as mentioned above. The best way to combat yellowing teeth is to avoid their root causes, such as those mentioned earlier. However, sometimes that is not always practical. And, our teeth are prone to yellowing naturally over time, regardless. This is why we get yellower teeth as we age, but young people, especially children, have perfectly white teeth.
If you have yellowing teeth, or even browning teeth, consider teeth whitening solutions. One of the latest advancements to teeth whitening is blue LED light whitening. It is used in combination with a hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide gel. After the gel is applied to your teeth, they are exposed to blue light emitting diodes (LEDs). This creates a reaction which then whitens teeth. Some consider this a safe and more natural way of whitening teeth than older methods.
Blue light teeth whitening can be done at the dentist’s office, or with an at-home kit.
Teeth whitening is not permanent and must be repeated regularly. This is why at-home kits are becoming popular, especially the blue LED devices, since they can be reused.
3) Seek Botox® to reduce a gummy smile
A gummy smile is caused when the upper lip is raised too high while smiling or laughing. This causes not only teeth to show, but also gums. Hence, the term, ‘gummy smile.’ This can be considered an undesirable look. However, it’s up to you to decide if you like your smile or not. It is important to love yourself for who you are before seeking to improve your look. However, if you do want to improve your look, there is nothing wrong with that.
If you want to get rid of a gummy smile, one solution is to use Botox® Cosmetic injections.
Botox Cosmetic relaxes the muscles around the mouth area of the upper lips (but not the lips themselves), so that they don’t move as much when making facial expressions. This causes the upper lip not to rise too high when smiling or laughing. It can thus reduce a gummy smile.
The side benefit is that treating a gummy smile also results in a Botox® lip flip. This can curl the edges of lips outward very slightly. By curling them outward, they appear larger and fuller. Larger and fuller lips are also desirable among many people. This method can be combined with lip fillers, mentioned below.
Botox® treatments to reduce a gummy smile last around 3 to 4 months.
4) Seek lip filler to enhance lip shape
Another cosmetic procedure to create a beautiful smile is with lip filler. Lip fillers are usually made of hyaluronic acid (HA) gel. This gel is expertly injected into lips, to help shape and volumize them. The purpose can be to create symmetry on the lips. But it can also be to create a new look, such as heart-shaped lips, or a more defined vermillion border.
Lip fillers can last 6 to 18 months at a time.
5) Seek dermal fillers or thread lifts to soften smile lines and nasolabial folds
Nasolabial folds are the deep lines that form on the angle from the tip of the nose to the edges of the mouth. As we age, we lose collagen and elastin in our skin. We also lose muscle and fat in our face. These combinations together cause sagging skin. Sagging skin on the nasolabial folds can make them seem more pronounced. Sagging skin around the mouth can create the appearance of a ‘pout’ when someone is actually just at rest.
A solution for deep smile lines is to use dermal fillers to volumize the tissue under the skin.
Another option is to use a thread lift. Thread lifts use special sutures to pull the skin on the lower face upward.
Both of these methods to reduce nasolabial folds and smile lines are non-surgical, and thus, come with less risk than plastic surgery.
6) Smooth wrinkles with laser rejuvenation treatments
Aged skin can contain several small lines and wrinkles around the lips. These can be smoothed to a degree with laser skin rejuvenation techniques. By creating small micro injuries beneath the skin’s top layer, the body begins removing old, dead skin. To compensate, it then produces new, fresh collagen. Given the right technique, technology and number of treatments, laser treatments can dramatically reduce signs of aging, such as fine lines and wrinkles.
The best way, of course, is to prevent these fine lines and wrinkles as much as possible. This requires a good skin care routine, and regular maintenance at a medical spa.
7) Don’t forget your lip gloss!
Lip gloss can add moisture to your lips so they look plump. They can also prevent cracking in dry weather.
Lip gloss should always contain SPF. The sun’s UV rays can do a lot of damage to our skin, including the skin on our lips. This is what leads to dryness, wrinkles, brown spots and medical issues like labial lentigo.
So, keep your lips healthy with regular, all-day use of SPF lip gloss!
Well-maintained lips and teeth are the key to a beautiful smile!
As we’ve seen above, to achieve a beautiful smile, we must take care of our teeth and our lips. Good dental hygiene and teeth whitening can take care of the parts that are revealed when we smile. But the outside of our mouth is also important in this regard. Preventing and treating wrinkles, shaping the lips or reducing a gummy smile can help add to the natural aesthetic of one’s current laugh.
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