More than 55% of people in the United States cover their mouths when laughing around other people.
They feel insecure about their smile because of stained teeth, receding gums, and awkward gaps.
If you are one of those people and are sick of covering your mouth, there are a few things you can do to feel more confident with your smile.
Continue reading to discover the best tips for getting and maintaining a gorgeous smile that the world should see!
1. Visit the Dentist Regularly
To have a bright and beautiful smile, the first step you should take is to regularly visit the dentist.
Getting checkups twice a year can help prevent tooth decay that leads to visible damage. A dentist can help spot issues before they become too serious.
One of the biggest things that a dentist can do is identify when a nerve is damaged in the teeth. Without getting the tooth fixed, it will become discolored and can ruin your smile. A dentist can easily fix this problem and ensure that your smile is as white as can be!
Dentists say that patients should visit their office every 13 to 120 months, depending on if they experience discomfort. Most insurance companies, however, cover two appointments per year.
2. Brush and Floss Daily
Another obvious tip that will help get you a strong smile is by brushing and flossing daily.
Brushing your teeth can help prevent plaque buildup and helps get rid of sticky sugars. Your teeth will appear much brighten if you brush twice a day. Many people claim that charcoal toothpaste can brighten the smile even more. The grit from the charcoal helps rub away stains and detox the teeth.
Flossing is another important aspect of having a nice smile. Without flossing, you can get cavities, which are holes, in your teeth. It can also be perfect in a pinch after you had lunch and don’t want to smile with lettuce in your teeth!
3. Drink Water
To get a better smile you must drink plenty of water.
Water helps improve oral health and keeps everything running the way that it should. If you aren’t drinking enough water, you are unable to create saliva. Unfortunately, when salina isn’t made, it can’t help break down foods and sugars in the mouth.
Saliva helps by naturally washing out food and bacteria that like to build up on teeth and around the gums. Water should be the main beverage you consume throughout the day and it never hurts to swish it around your mouth.
4. Don’t Deal With Pain
If you ever experience pain or discomfort in your mouth, you mustn’t ignore it.
Getting to the dentist should be your first goal if you are in pain. If stress and fears are holding you back from making an appointment, there are many anxiety free dentistry options available.
You should never wait until you are in pain or try to wait it out. Getting an appointment will help get your smile back to normal so that you can feel confident again. Ignoring pain can lead to larger issues that impact the gums and nerves. The sooner that your dentist can identify problems, the less you will see them in your smile.
5. Limit Coffee and Dark Teas
If you are a coffee or tea drinker, you may not want to listen to this tip for a brighter smile.
Unfortunately, coffee and dark teas can stain your teeth and dull your smile. Over time, coffee can wear down tooth enamel and weaken the teeth. This also makes them less white and difficult to clean.
Combatting coffee and tea stains on teeth can seem like a never-ending problem, especially if you don’t change your morning routine.
6. Use Safe Whitening Treatments
Talking to your dentist may provide you with helpful information about safe whitening treatments.
Many dental offices provide whitening services, but these can often be painful and expensive. The most common way that people whiten their teeth is with at-home treatment kits.
If you decide to use a whitening treatment, you should ensure that it is safe for your teeth and won’t eat away at your enamel. Bleaching ingredients in these treatments can damage your gums and smile.
Many places can provide you with custom whitening treatments that won’t damage your teeth. They are also made with safer ingredients that won’t leave you sensitive.
7. Stop Smoking
There are many unfortunate side effects of smoking, especially when it comes to your smile.
Smoking can stain your teeth yellow or discolor small spots on the teeth. It can also give you bad breath and lead to oral cancer that won’t help improve your grin. If you are committed to getting a better smile, you must be willing to quit smoking.
Although vape pens may seem like a better alternative that won’t stain your teeth, there are other more serious side effects of smoking them. The best way to whiter and stronger teeth is by putting the cigarette down.
8. Use Flouride
Flouride can be found in a variety of products, including the water you drink every day!
If you want a beautiful smile, you should be getting enough fluoride to help keep your teeth white. Although you likely won’t be giving yourself fluoride treatments like that do at the dentist, there are other ways to get its benefits.
Getting a good toothpaste brand with fluoride in the ingredients list can help you the most. Brushing twice a day and drinking water will put you in contact with fluoride throughout the entire day.
Not only does this ingredient help keep your teeth white, but it also makes them strong and prevents bacteria from collecting!
9. Eat Strawberries for a Whiter Smile
Strawberries may not seem like the solution to your gorgeous smile, but they can help!
This fruit contains a type of acid that helps whiten teeth naturally. If you are looking for a safe teeth whitening solution, you can try mashing up strawberries and mixing them with baking soda to make a paste. This paste can help brighten your teeth and improve your smile.
Don’t be worried if strawberry seeds get between your teeth, simply floss them out.
10. Watch Your Drinking
If you are a social drinker or just enjoy having a beverage now and again, you may want to think again.
You don’t have to completely give up drinking alcohol to have a nice smile, but it won’t hurt. Alcohol can damage your smile over time, making you less confident. It weakens the enamel on your teeth and can make decay more possible.
Corrosion and decay can ruin a perfect smile in a short time if not taken care of. Limiting your drinking can help with your smile but there are other ways to combat the issue. Using a straw will allow your enamel a fighting chance and keep sugars off of the teeth.
Another way of combating tooth decay while drinking is by having water after each beverage. The water can help wash away the alcohol and keep your teeth free from harm.
11. Use Straws
Carbonated beverages and sugary drinks can cause a lot of damage to your smile.
If you want a gorgeous smile, you may want to try using a straw while drinking beverages. The sugar found in many drinks can cause tooth decay and cavities that damage the teeth. For a better smile, you can use a straw to decrease the amount of sugar coming into contact with each tooth.
Even when you are drinking fruit juices, you should use a straw. When you use a straw, the sugar from the drink doesn’t come into contact with your teeth and won’t build up causing decay.
Another beverage that you should consider using a straw for is red wine. The dark red color can quickly stain teeth and cause damage.
12. Manage Your Diabetes
People who have diabetes are more likely than most people to have oral issues.
Diabetes puts people at risk for a variety of complications and gum disease is one of them. Eating a balanced diet can help keep gum disease and diabetes under control. If you don’t manage your diabetes, you may experience sore gums and bleed.
Anyone with diabetes should also pay extra attention to oral health because they are also more likely to get infections. The gums and bones that help hold your teeth in place can become infected with limited blood supply and a lack of saliva.
Diabetes affects the human body’s ability to get rid of bad bacteria and can lead to larger issues.
13. Focus on Your Overall Health
When you focus on your overall health, you tend to feel better inside and out.
If you are experiencing any oral pain or don’t like your smile, focusing on other things can help. Getting in shape will make your body feel better and stronger. The stronger that your body is, the easier it will be to defend itself from decay and damage, even in the mouth.
Eating a healthy diet can also help keep you in shape and feel better. A balanced diet will introduce a variety of nutrients and vitamins your body requires to run. If your immune and nervous system can’t work together, you will be defenseless.
If you want a strong smile, you must be healthy everywhere else too.
14. Don’t Compare
A common reason many people don’t feel confident with their smile is that they are comparing their teeth with other people’s.
Not all teeth are the same, nor should they be treated the same. Some people have more enamel and can handle whitening treatments. Other people may not have as white teeth, but that doesn’t make them any less strong.
When you compare and only make changes because of other people, you still end up with little confidence. If you want a gorgeous smile, you need to do what is right for YOU.
A treatment that might help some people may damage your teeth and cause permanent damage. Always talk to your dentist about the best options for you.
15. Be Careful
The final tip for getting a gorgeous smile that you won’t be afraid to show off is to simply, be careful!
Playing certain sports can put you at risk of damaging your mouth and jaw. Many people know that hockey can cause a damaged mouth from fighting and flying pucks. Even if you aren’t playing hockey, you should always be aware of things coming toward you.
A more common scenario that you should be careful in is while holding your phone in bed. Have you ever been lying down looking up at your phone only to drop it on your face the next moment?
Even your phone can cause damage to your mouth and damage your teeth. Hard contact with your phone can chip your teeth and damage nerves. Both of these can ruin your smile and make you insecure.
Try your best to be careful and not hit your mouth or teeth on anything. Especially when putting a glass up to your mouth!
Let Your Gorgeous Smile Shine
Too many people are covering their mouths because they are insecure about their smiles.
You shouldn’t be afraid to show your teeth and gorgeous smile around your friends and family. By utilizing this guide, you can improve your smile and feel more confident than ever.
It is important to know that not all teeth are the same. They require different things to be happy and for you to feel confident with. Avoiding sugary drinks, alcoholic beverages, and coffee are simple ways to avoid stained teeth.
To have a healthy smile you also need to eat a balanced diet and maintain health throughout the rest of your body.
Be sure to check out my blog for more articles about feeling confident with your smile and body!
