Reasons to Be Thankful for Your Smile

Thanksgiving is the time to be thankful, and that includes being thankful for your smile. If you’ve been focusing on your oral health and proper dental hygiene, you have a lot to be thankful for.
First, you can smile confidently, knowing you always have fresh breath and a clean, bright smile. What’s more, when you have a healthy smile, you can improve your overall health and reduce your risk for serious medical conditions. Here are some important reasons to be thankful for your smile.
Having a Confident Smile
The first reason to be thankful for your beautiful smile is that it can help you feel more confident, and improve your self-esteem. The cosmetic reasons for a good smile are important because you feel happy to smile wide and show your pearly whites. You know your breath is always fresh and your teeth are aesthetically pleasing. The confidence you portray makes it easy to be around you, because you feel good about yourself. That makes others enjoy being around you too. People are just naturally attracted to people who smile.
Improved Health
More and more research contends that proper oral health care can improve systemic health. Gum disease and periodontal disease have been linked to more serious health conditions, including heart disease and diabetes. For example, gum disease causes an excess of inflammation, which can lead to blocked blood vessels and can up the risk of stroke and heart disease. There is also a link between gum disease and diabetes. Be thankful that you are improving your overall systemic health when you have good oral health.
Prevention of More Serious Issues
The preventative measures of good oral health are considerable. By taking good care of your teeth and getting regular cleanings and checkups from your dentist, you can prevent more serious dental issues and costly procedures. This includes periodontal disease, as well as procedures like root canals or extractions.
You can also be thankful for saving yourself quite a bit of money by not requiring these extensive procedures. Many of them can be avoided simply by seeing your dentist on a regular basis. Regular check-ups also help your dentist look for signs of oral cancer, which can be treated early.
This is the time of the year for being thankful, and having proper oral health is a wonderful thing to be thankful for.
Sources:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dental/DE00001
http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/gum-disease-health
http://www.pharmacytimes.com/publications/issue/2013/March2013/Benefits-of-Good-Oral-Hygiene