Are you embarassed about your smile?

Are you too embarassed to smile ?

Did you know that it wasn’t until recent years cosmetic dental treatment became a popular option? For years talking about teeth was seen as voodoo and an uncool topic of conversation.

Words frequently used to describe going to the dentist are “scary” “uncomfortable” and “stressful”. Did you know that feeling this way about the dentist is actually quite common? This type of experience is what is described as a “dental phobia” or in other words, fear of the dentist or teeth itself. Dental phobia can have a bad affect on a person mentally and physically. Normally it’s started from a bad experience from childhood, either at the dentist or from bullying. Poor thoughts of teeth can stop a person from attending normal examinations and hygiene appointments and stop them from smiling, or cause avoidance of social situations, and can even stop a person from getting a career of their choice.

In recent years reality TV shows like TOWIE, Made in Chelsea and The X Factor often display pearly white sparkling straight teeth showing that popularity and success is associated with healthy teeth. This appearance is not only linked to celebrity shows, news reporters and TV presenters are also known for gleaming white teeth and movie star smiles.

It is a sad part of life that we are often judged by appearance instead of character. School and work are normally the two big places where people are afraid because a weakness, particularly something visible can be picked up almost immediately. If  somebody is already feeling embarrassed by their teeth, they probably won’t want to smile a lot and will most likely avoid talking or keep a tight lip because this stops people from seeing their teeth. This can cause a lot of problems, particularly during a job interview or a staff meeting, as it might show a nervousness or a “can’t be bothered” attitude, when really, the issue is because of the persons teeth. This might stop somebody from getting a promotion or even being offered their dream job. At school or at a party, it might be seen as a weird behaviour and stop people from chilling out together. The school and work environments both also create an opportunity for bullying, with hurtful nicknames like “bugs bunny”, “jaws” and “snaggletooth” which are commonly the ones shown on TV shows.  Generally the fear of the teeth may cause a person to not smile publicly, not maintain eye contact and not participate in group conversation due to not wanting to show the teeth.

So if you feel embarassed about your smile, your confidence is low why not to pop in and speak to one of our team members. Or even better just simply give us a shout and we can easily set a free consultation with Dr  Agnieszka Milbauer who has a special interest in cosmetic dentistry and teeth straightening and find out how we can help you to SMILE again !