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It can be surprising how much of your confidence can come from a single gesture. However, when you lack confidence in your smile, you can feel the impact on your self-esteem and self-image. If you have to feel conscious about your smile and feel the need to physically cover it up, it’s bound to affect you. So, how do you get some confidence in your smile?
Invest some time and care into them
A lot of people fall into the bad habit of not liking their teeth, so they then neglect to give them the care that they should. This not only leads to them getting in a worse state but also leads to a feeling of having no pride in your appearance. From doing your daily oral health care, such as brushing, flossing, and rinsing, to implementing longer-term care like teeth whitening to improve their appearance, simply taking the steps of caring for your teeth can help you feel a lot better about them.
Consider your options
If you have a cracked or chipped tooth, are dealing with high levels of discoloration, or have some alignment issues, it can feel like having nice looking teeth is simply beyond you. However, that’s not true. No matter how extensive the problem might be, there is often some treatment that can help correct it. Porcelain veneers are a good example, able to help with all of the above-mentioned issues with a natural-looking shell that gets fitted over your existing teeth. Not all solutions are super long term, you might be able to make immediate fixes if you would simply ask about them.
A little practice helps
It might feel a little silly to do it at first. Smiling is a natural reaction but if you’ve spent your life hiding your smile, you have to unlearn those habits. One of the best ways to do that is to simply stand in front of a mirror and give it a try. There are even sites that can help you practice your smile and, eventually, you’re going to get so used to the feeling that you will start to do it naturally without thinking.
Do it with feeling
We all smile when we don’t exactly feel like it. A small smile can be a gesture of acknowledgment, or we might smile nervously in awkward situations. When it comes time to smile for real, however, you should lean into the emotion that you’re feeling as you do it. When you’re really feeling a smile, it’s not just about what your mouth is doing, it transforms your whole face, affecting the eyes, cheeks, and more. A true smile from the heart is much more charming than one that you have to compose, so don’t feel too much pressure to smile when you’re not feeling it.
We all have our little flaws to get over and regaining confidence in your smile, while it might be a big deal to you, can be a relatively simple affair. Talk to your dentist about your options and you’ll be surprised at how many you have.