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WE OFTEN HEAR that it takes fewer muscles to smile than to frown. We’re not sure where that came from, but it isn’t actually true. At least ten muscles are involved in smiling, but it might require as few as six to form a frown. We propose changing the saying to “smiling burns more calories than frowning,” but let’s take a look at the other benefits we get from smiling!

The Smiling/Happiness Feedback Loop

To say that we smile when we’re happy might seem so obvious that there’s no point in saying it, but the relationship between smiling and happiness is a lot like the chicken and egg question. We do smile when we’re happy, but we also become happier by smiling! It turns out that the simple act of smiling (even when it’s fake) releases endorphins, also known as the feel-good hormones. So it might be a good idea when you’re having a rough day to try smiling until you feel a little better!

Smiling Reduces Pain and Stress

The endorphins we gain by smiling have a lot of great benefits. In the short term, those include relieving stress and reducing pain. Endorphins function like painkillers (without side effects!) and help us recover more quickly from stressful situations. One experiment in 2012 tested how long it took the subjects’ heart rates to go back to normal after a stressful task, and the smiling subjects recovered more quickly.

Boost Your Immune System with a Smile!

The effects of endorphins can compound over time into something more long-term if we make a habit of smiling. We’re making ourselves more resilient against illnesses — even reducing our chances of getting cancer! This happens because when we manage our stress more effectively, our cells go through fewer stress-induced mutations.

Extend Your Lifespan by Smiling

It’s a well known fact that people perceive a smiling face as being younger and more attractive than a face that isn’t smiling. Well that isn’t just about appearances: over the course of a lifetime, the health benefits from smiling can actually help us live longer. Of course, it’s easier to smile when we’re happy with the way our teeth look, which is just one reason it’s so important to establish and maintain good daily oral health habits!

Bring Us Your Beautiful Smiles!

You don’t have to fight for your healthy smile alone! We’re here to help.

Our patients make us smile!

HOW MUCH DO you remember from learning about the pH scale in science class? Don’t worry; if you forgot all of it, we’ll give you a little refresher, because acids and bases are pretty important when it comes to the health of our teeth and gums.

A Crash Course in the pH Scale

The pH scale is how we measure how acidic or basic a substance is. The scale goes from 1 to 14. Neutral substances (like water) have a pH of 7, while highly acidic things are lower on the scale and highly basic things are higher on the scale.

To give you an idea of where some common substances land, orange juice ranges from 3.3 to 4.2 and stomach acid is all the way down between 1.5 and 2.5. Soap is mildly basic at between 9 and 10, and bleach is a powerful base at 12.5. What pH is best for our mouths?

Ideal Oral pH

The human body isn’t all the same pH. Our skin is happiest when mildly acidic (with a pH of about 5.5), but blood should be slightly basic (7.4). For our teeth and gums to stay as healthy as possible, we want our oral pH to remain neutral the majority of the time. An unhealthy mouth is more acidic, which can seriously damage tooth enamel over time. Tooth enamel is extremely hard so that it can withstand a lifetime of chewing, but it begins eroding at a mildly acidic pH of 5.5.

What Makes Mouths Acidic?

So how does acid end up in our mouths? The most direct way is by eating or drinking something tart or sour. The bubbles in soda pop, regular and diet alike, come from carbonic acid even though not all soda tastes sour. Our mouths can also become acidic indirectly. When we consume sugary or starchy things, harmful oral bacteria eats the leftovers and excretes acid onto our teeth and gums as a waste product. Acid reflux or vomiting also introduces more acid to the mouth.

Saliva Is the First Line of Defense Against Acid

Fortunately, our mouths have a built-in defense mechanism against acid: our spit! Saliva washes away leftover particles of food and neutralizes our oral pH over time. This is what makes dry mouth so dangerous to our teeth and gums beyond the way it can make chewing and swallowing difficult. Our teeth are left vulnerable to acid erosion without enough saliva.

What can we do to help our saliva do this critical job? We can avoid sipping on or snacking on sugary drinks and treats. Every time we consume something acidic or containing sugar or starch, we reset the clock on our saliva neutralizing our oral pH. That’s why we recommend keeping the treats to mealtimes instead of continuous sipping and snacking.

Consume Less Sugar and Acid

We can also reduce the overall amount of sugary or acidic things we eat, which means minimizing the soda and sugary treats along with breads and dairy products and adding in more fruits and veggies.

Let’s Unite in the Fight Against Enamel Erosion!

Eating less sugary or acidic food and keeping the ones you do to mealtimes will really help your oral pH stay neutral, but it’s not a replacement for twice-daily brushing and daily flossing — nor is it a replacement for regular dental appointments! These habits are still essential to lifelong oral health.

We love our patients’ healthy smiles!

WE ALL KNOW how important daily brushing and flossing are to a growing child’s smile. We know about scheduling regular dental appointments, and hopefully we know that cutting back on sugar and keeping it to mealtimes instead of snacks throughout the day is also important. But what about the vitamins and minerals that help build those healthy smiles in the first place?

Vitamins for Oral Health

What keeps saliva flowing so it can protect our teeth and gums? Vitamin A! Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that helps our bodies heal and fight inflammation. When kids don’t get enough, their gums could become more prone to bleeding and their teeth can become looser.

Vitamin D signals our intestines to absorb vitamins into the bloodstream and helps our bones stay dense and strong. Vitamins B2, 3, and 12 are important for reducing the risk of developing canker sores in the mouth, and B3 also helps us convert food into energy.

How About Those Minerals?

Calcium is great for building strong teeth and bones, and magnesium helps the body absorb it. We need iron to maintain good oxygen levels in our cells. Finally, zinc helps us fight oral bacteria and plaque by making it harder for it to build up along the gumline.

We’re here to help you build a healthy smile!

MOST OF US learn a little about the pH scale in our science classes as teenagers, but what does that have to do with oral health? A lot, actually, which is why we’re going to take this opportunity to give our patients a quick refresher on the basics of pH.

What Is pH and What Does It Mean?

The pH scale measures how acidic or basic something is, from 1 to 14. A pH of 7 is neutral. Anything lower is increasingly acidic and anything higher is increasingly basic. For example, stomach acid has a pH of between 1.5 and 2.5, orange juice ranges from 3.3 to 4.2, plain water is neutral at 7, soap tends to be between 9 and 10, and bleach is strongly basic at 12.5. So what about the human mouth?

The pH of Our Mouths

Different parts of us have different ideal pH levels. Healthy skin should be mildly acidic (around 5.5) while blood should be slightly basic (7.4). For healthy teeth and gums, our mouths should be as close to neutral as possible. Unhealthy mouths tend to be more acidic, which is very harmful to tooth enamel. Even though enamel is the hardest substance in the human body, it’s very vulnerable to acid erosion. It will begin to erode at a pH of just 5.5!

How Mouths Become Acidic

Our teeth can be exposed to acid in many ways. When we eat or drink something sour or tart, that is actually the taste of the acid. Soda is also highly acidic (the bubbles come from carbonic acid). Acid exposure can also come indirectly when we consume sugars and starches. Harmful oral bacteria gobble up the leftovers stuck between our teeth after a meal, a snack, or a sip of soda, and they produce acid as waste. Vomiting or acid reflux are other ways acid can reach the teeth.

Saliva: Our Natural Defense Mechanism

So how do we fight back against all those acid attacks? First, we have the built-in defense of saliva. Saliva washes away food particles and neutralizes our oral pH. This essential job is why dry mouth can be so dangerous for oral health. Without saliva, our teeth are more vulnerable.

We should do as much as we can to help our saliva do its job. It’s a bad idea to sip on sugary/acidic drinks or eat a lot of snacks, because every time we eat, our saliva has to start neutralizing our oral pH all over again, and the acid has more time to erode our enamel. If you’re going to indulge in occasional treats, keep them to mealtimes.

Cut Down on Acidic Foods

Another way we can help our saliva protect our teeth is by cutting down on the acidic foods and drinks and trading them for more alkaline ones. That means eating more fruits and veggies and fewer breads, dairy products, and meats. We should especially minimize the amount of soda we drink and sugary treats we eat.

We’re All Part of the Fight Against Enamel Erosion!

Following all these tips doesn’t make it any less important to brush twice a day for two full minutes, floss daily, and keep up with your regular dental appointments! If you want to learn more about how to keep your tooth enamel strong, we’d love to answer your questions. We want all of our patients to have the tools to keep their teeth healthy for a lifetime!

We love those healthy smiles!