Three Steps to a Better Smile

Originally posted on Family Dental Tips.

Everyone wants a better smile. A good smile can open many doors for you. If you aren't satisfied with your smile follow these tips to make it better.

Smile With Your Eyes

The eyes are a window to the soul

You might have heard the phrase before. But you probably didn't realize how true it is. you can tell is someone is genuinely smiling just by looking at their eyes. A true smile is sometimes referred to as a Duchenne smile after the french physician who first identified this phenomenon.

A true smile uses the muscles of the mouth as well as a the obicularis oculi, a muscle around the eyes. This muscle lifts the cheeks and squints the eyes. It is also the muscle that gives you crows feet, the wrinkles that can occur around the eyes.

Bottom line if you want your smile to appear genuine you need to let it show in your eyes.

Smile With Your Teeth

A true smile also exposes your teeth. So if you want your smile to be awesome you have to get your teeth into top shape.

• Color - White teeth are the standard of beauty. Luckily whiter teeth are relatively easy to achieve. There are numerous over the counter methods and if your teeth are the kind that don't whiten easily there are many other solutions.
• Shape - Crooked teeth are unattractive according to society. If your teeth are crooked a quick visit to the dentist will let you know what your options are for straightening it out.
• Gums - If you have some kind of periodontal disease or your smile is particularly gummy you might be a little apprehensive about showing it to people. Good hygiene habits are a the best way to start. But you might also want to visit a periodontist to see what they can do for you.

When you aren't self conscious about your teeth it is much easier to show people a real smile.

Practice

Sounds silly right? Standing in front of the mirror pasting on a grin. But the more you smile the happier you are the happier you are the more you smile.

When you are comfortable with your smile it will come to you more easily. Your confidence will show and people will want to be around you.

Brought to you by The Perio Group.

Image credit: Flickr

                                                                              

Cosmetic Surgery Statistics Are Concerning

There are thousands of cosmetic surgery procedures carried out each year in the UK and the number keeps increasing each year. What's worrying about that is that it is a very poorly regulated industry and mistakes are more common than you might think. Worse, negligence isn't always caused by mistakes so much as laziness and corner cutting.

A recent study outlined the scary facts. Carried out bey the National Confidential Enquiry it showed up some shocking statistics regarding the companies who carry out cosmetic surgery procedures.

First of all, nearly 70% of companies refused to take part in the study. That means that nearly 70% are completely unregulated. We know nothing of their practices, methods, standards or competency. Patients going to these companies really have no way of knowing how good the surgeon is or how good the after care will be. They certainly have no way of comeback should things go wrong, short of suing the cosmetic surgeon in question.

Of the remaining 30% there are some statistics that should cause patients concern. For example, 32% don't offer a 'cooling off period' after patients book a surgery. That means you can't change your mind after booking and get your full money back. Despite the fact this is standard practice for most transactions involving large sums, the unregulated cosmetic surgery industry does not, for the most part, adhere to this, which should be a worry for patients.

Only 56% of the companies that took part in the survey said they do the initial consultation with a consultant surgeon, instead presumably relying on their sales people to carry it out. This is worrying as it seems unlikely that any concerns will be raised in a bid to 'get the sale'.

A staggering 44% had poorly equipped operating theatres, increasing the risk that something could go wrong and if it did lacking the facilities to adequately deal with a mistake or complication.

A third of the companies don't have an out of hours consultant rota should an emergency arise and perhaps most worrying of all one in five do not have an emergency re-admissions policy, instead relying on the NHS to deal with any post-operative complications. They effectively wash their hands of the patient once the procedure is carried out.

All of this adds up to a poorly regulated industry in which a patient who suffers some kind of cosmetic surgery negligence has little opportunity to seek compensation other than through the courts.

In these instances it is advised that a patient contacts a specialist medical negligence solicitors who will be able to advise on whether or not negligence has taken pace and if so, how to go about claiming compensation.

Based on these statistics it is little wonder that as the number of cosmetic surgery procedures increases so do the instances of negligence and the number of claims for compensation.