Your smile is one of your most attractive facial features. Smiling expresses amusement, pleasure, moderate joy, love and kindness. Especially for major events such as your wedding, class reunion or annual vacation, you want to wear your best smile as it reflects a sense of well-being and happiness that radiates. Or, you may be prepping for a hot date, lunch meeting, birthday party or even a job interview. And since first impressions last and your smile is the one of the first things people notice, you want to have that perfect smile. So here are some reasons to preserve and protect your smile, some do’s and don’ts and a few products that I’ve found to be indispensable.

Top 10 reasons to smile:

1. draws positive attention to you

2. changes your mood

3. it’s contagious

4. relieves stress

5. boosts your immune system due to relaxation

6. lifts the face

7. makes you look younger

8. releases endorphins and serotonin (feel good neurotransmitters)

9. helps you stay positive

10. you appear successful

Avoid Smile-Aging Habits:

1. Don’t smoke – smoking not only stains your teeth but it also prematurely ages your skin.

2. Avoid stains – red wine, coffee, dark foods tend to stain,so brush soon after consuming.

3. Don’t use as tools – teeth are for eating not opening bottles. Pressure on your teeth may cause chips and breakages as well as disrupt the flow of nutrients possibly causing a change in colour to dark gray.

4. Good oral care – be sure to change your toothbrush frequently and floss daily. Problems with gums (such as gums receding) can change the way your smile looks.

5. Grinding and Clenching – two of the most common causes of the wearing away of tooth enamel. When done over a long period of time at heavy pressure, these may cause premature loss of healthy teeth, through fracture, and /or necrosis (dying of the teeth).

Protect your smile:

Lips – always perform light exfoliation and hydrate using anti-aging lip care. Try the Secrets Anti-Aging Lip Cream which prevents and diminishes fine lines and wrinkles around the lip area, it’s also proven to preserve and restore the plumpness of your lips.

Teeth – visit your dentist to straighten, whiten, implant, veneer, bond or reshape according to your needs.

Tongue – watch your tongue activity, tongue thrusting may result in misalignment.

OTC Instant Smile Fixers:

1. SprayWhite 90 brightens dull-looking teeth in mere minutes with its quick no-mess, two step process. The main ingredient is peroxide, so you get a temporary boost in tooth shade.

2. Colgate Wisps are single-use mini, disposable toothbrushes that clean without water. Perfect for instant freshness, remember cleaning your teeth right away reduces the chance of staining.

3. Diamond Elite Ultrasonic Toothbrush helps to deliver the right amount of brushing pressure to avoid receding gums and other side effects of brushing too hard.

4. Supersmile Six-Minute Whitening Technique is a five-step process to whiten two to four shades in just six minutes.

Smile Tips for Perfect Pictures:

1. Pick the right shade of lipstick – colours with blue undertones make teeth look whiter.

2. Don’t ignore your tongue – pushing your tongue against the top front teeth elongates the smile.

3. Don’t smile too big – smiling only three-quarters of the way prevents overexposed gums

The age-old medicine men of Bali say that you must smile with your face, mind and even with your liver during meditation. Taking care of your smile is one small thing you can do to improve your appearance, the way you are perceived by others and your mood. So smile Jamaica!