Smiling is important. It can show others that you’re happy and approachable. It can also help release feelgood endorphins. In other words, smiling can make you and the people around you feel better.
Unfortunately, many of us suffer embarrassment when smiling. We may cover up our smile with our hand or try to resist smiling. This is usually because we don’t like the way our smile looks. We may have teeth that are discoloured, damaged or wonky or we may have a gummy smile.
Getting over this embarrassment can be vital for leading a successful life. If you’re too embarrassed to smile, you could find that it gets in the way of everything from finding a life partner to getting a job. To help you overcome your smile anxiety, here are just several steps that you can take.
Find your best angle
Many of us don’t like the way our smile looks in photographs. This can often be because we’re letting ourselves be pictured from the wrong angle. Obsessive selfie takers will all tell you that they have a favourite angle. Few of us are naturally photogenic – people that look good in photos often spend a lot of time posing in front of a mirror or in front of their phone camera.
Perfect the closed mouth smile
If your teeth are the issue, you may be able to find a way of smiling without opening your mouth. Smiling with closed lips doesn’t come naturally to everyone, so you may want to practice in front of a mirror. You can find guides online on how to smile with a closed mouth as found at leaf.TV.
Think happy thoughts
If a smile isn’t genuine it can sometimes look fake. The eyes are often a good indicator as to whether a smile is genuine – most people cannot fake emotion in the eyes. To ensure that your smile is always genuine, think happy thoughts whenever you need to smile for a photo or for an event. This could be a joke or a happy memory that helps you to overcome the nerves of the moment and smile with genuine happiness.
Consider cosmetic treatment
If you don’t like the way you smile looks, you could also consider getting cosmetic treatment to fix it. If you’ve got wonky teeth, you could look into orthodontic treatment – you can make appointments at orthodontistemontreal.com/en. Teeth whitening could be another option – this could include veneers or laser whitening. Dental treatment and surgery could also help to tackle other defects ranging from a gummy smile to missing teeth. Such treatment can be expensive, but could be worthwhile for restoring your confidence and giving you the ability to smile.
Find other ways to boost your self-confidence
You don’t have to fix your smile or even change the way you smile. Embarrassment in your smile could be beaten simply by improving your general self-confidence in your appearance. You could find that less people care about the look of your smile than you think. In fact, most people would rather see you smile than not smile, even if you don’t have the best teeth in the world.
You can stop caring what others think by focusing on the positive qualities of your appearance. Focus on these positive qualities and you’ll learn to overlook the negative qualities.
