Posted on 25 Oct, 2011 -
The Power of Your Smile
The Power of Your Smile: The No. 1 thing you can do to look younger, feel amazing and improve your confidence and your chance of success
How Health and Fitness Magazine, The Diet Doctors and The Daily Mail convinced me to turn to Dr George for whiter teeth!
PLUS: what Nat King Cole and the harvest festival lady have to say about the power of smiling…
Dear Reader,
Wherever I turn this week, I seem to be getting the same message: you need whiter teeth.
I’ve been doing some research this week on the subject of ‘How to Look Younger’ and almost everything I read says that having your teeth whitened is the No.1 thing you can do to look younger, feel amazing, boost your confidence… and even get a better job!
There is even a fascinating British study in which two thousand people were shown two photos of the same woman that were identical apart from the teeth. On average, the woman with the yellowish, uncared-for teeth was rated as looking 13 years older than the same woman with the set of pearly whites.
Why? It’s as plain as 1 + 1: Even discounting staining, our teeth get darker as we age. We therefore subconsciously equate white teeth with youth so when we see a person with lighter teeth we judge them to be younger… more beautiful… and more like a Hollywood star!
To find out how to whiten your teeth subtly and safely and without spending a fortune click here
So how important is your smile - and your confidence in it?
Nobody can deny the power of an electric smile - either for its power of attraction or its curative effect on others.
At the school harvest festival recently, the lady visiting from the soup kitchen talked to the children about the homeless people in our town and said that they wouldn’t believe how much it means to these people when somebody smiles at them.
A smile is often the first thing you notice about - or are attracted to in a person. As Walter Anderson advises in The Confidence Course:
“Smile. Have you ever noticed how easily puppies make human friends? Yet all they do is wag their tails and fall over.”
And what about this whiteness of your teeth then?
Uncared-for teeth it seems create a poor impression. I’ve also discovered that there are a lot of people out there who actually avoid smiling or laughing because they are embarrassed by their teeth. Some people even cover their teeth while they’re talking or laughing.
And in all the accounts I’ve been reading from people who’ve whitened their teeth, I’ve been amazed by the extent to which they say it has massively increased their confidence in themselves and in the way they look.
Confidence, of course, is important in succeeding in life in all kinds of ways - whether it’s in making friends, meeting a mate or getting a good job. So you can see how I’ve been beginning to wonder…
Are there ‘natural’ ways of whitening your teeth?
My first step in looking for methods for whitening teeth was to investigate the natural. Apart from advice about eating apples and popcorn, however, there wasn’t much there. I even read that baking powder should be avoided as it is too abrasive - and that the normal tip about using vinegar could actually erode your teeth enamel!
In fact, the only decent tip I found that didn’t involve whitening was to avoid white shirts or tops which make your teeth look much worse and opt for a cream instead…
So what about these whitening kits?
“So what about teeth whitening?” I asked a friend who’s a dental hygienist.
“Oh yes. It works wonders!” he said. “But don’t come to the clinic for it. Get a kit and do it. It’s so much cheaper! And if you get the right ones then it’s using just the same stuff as we would use.”
So which of the dental whitening kits uses the same stuff, I wondered next - so started another line of research.
I was particularly impressed by Dr George’s Dental White
which is the only one that’s been given FDA approval (The US Food and Drug Administration), uses exactly the same whitener as your dentist would in the surgery, and has been featured all over the TV and press including:
GQ magazine for men voted it as one of the top 10 must-have bathroom products.
Health and Fitness Magazine reviewed the kits and described them as the “best value for money teeth whitening procedure available”.
The Daily Mail reviewed their kits alongside 8 other tooth whitening systems and gave it the highest score out of any products.
On Channel 5’s The Diet Doctors Inside and Out, the participants in one series all took a course of home teeth whitening treatment using Dr George with “dazzling results”.
And it has also made not one but 5 appearances on the Oprah Winfrey show on a regular feature called “How to Look 10 Years Younger in 10 Days”!
Find out more about Dr George’s Dental White kit here
But is it safe?
The next question I wanted to ask, of course, was: is it safe.
The conclusion I have come to after reading some articles written by dentists and experts is that: as long as you get the right kind of kit (i.e. using the kinds of gels used by dentists) then the worse harm it can do is cause a tiny bit of sensitivity, that will go quite quickly.
You should not use these kits, however, if you have gum disease, teeth with worn enamel, unfilled cavities or particularly sensitive teeth. You should also probably avoid them if you have tooth-colored crowns, caps, veneers or other dental work in your front teeth because the colour of these will not be changed by the process.
Oh, and of course, if you’re pregnant or breast-feeding you should avoid doing EVERYTHING!
And most importantly of all… just smile
Your smile, of course, is not just about your (white or yellow) teeth!
As the harvest festival lady from the soup kitchen said, a smile really can make another person’s day....
“A smile confuses an approaching frown.”
(Unknown author)
A smiley person can inject so much sunshine into so many other people’s lives…
“Before you put on a frown, make absolutely sure there are no smiles available.”
Jim Beggs
”Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”
Leo. F. Buscaglia
I also believe that there’s an element of smiling that’s a very positively private thing as well. Smiling to yourself spontaneously when nobody else around you is, is a wonderful feeling.
And, as one of my favourite Nat King Cole hits says, a smile, when you’re feeling down, can also put a light back on in your heart and open you up for happiness, lightness and change…
Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it’s breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, you’ll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You’ll see the sun come shining through for you
Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That’s the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what’s the use of crying?
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile
Have a great week.
