15 facts about smiling

February 26, 2022

  

Professional dentists want to help patients achieve and maintain a healthy smile they can enjoy for the rest of their life. This is more than just about looks. Smiles can hold amazing power.

1. A smile is the most recognized facial expression

A smile is truly universal. Whether a person is in their home town or all the way across the globe, a smile indicates happiness.

2. Babies are born with the ability to smile

Babies mostly learn by watching the people around them. But all babies, including babies born blind, are born with the ability to smile. Recent research shows smiling is a natural response to certain physical stimuli such as sweet smells, tastes, and cheek strokes. And babies have the ability to smile in utero and immediately after birth.

3. Smiling can improve a person’s mood

Forcing a smile, even when sad, can actually help improve a person’s mood. The act of smiling releases certain hormones in the brain, including dopamine and serotonin, which help a person feel good.

4.  Smiling can reduce pain

People tend to grimace when uncomfortable, especially when in the throes of intense pain. But scientists believe smiling, even forcibly so, can help alleviate discomfort. When patients were told to smile while receiving a shot, they reported up to 40% less pain than those who received a shot with a relaxed face.

5. Smiling can lower blood pressure

Smiling also allows the body to release cortisol and endorphins to help relax the heart and lower blood pressure.

6. Smiling can reduce stress

The fact that smiling boosts endorphin output also means it can reduce stress and increase a person’s ability to cope with trying situations.

7. Smiling can help a person live longer

Because smiling releases endorphins, helps relieve stress, reduces pain, and decreases blood pressure it is a great health boost and can help a person live longer.

8. Smiling is contagious

Research shows most people have difficulty frowning when looking at another person who is smiling. It takes a more conscious effort to frown when engaging with a smiling face.

9. Children smile more than adults

On average, children smile up to 400 times a day. Uncommonly happy adults tend to smile only 40 to 50 times a day. And the average person only smiles about 20 times a day.

10. Women smile more often than men

Studies show that women smile more often than men. On average, women smile 62 times a day whereas men smile 8 times a day. Perhaps this discrepancy is due in part to the fact that men are seen as more attractive while not smiling and women are seen as more attractive while smiling.

11. Smiles use anywhere from 5 to 53 facial muscles

Different smiles require a different number of muscles. A mouth-only smile requires about 5 to 10 facial smiles. But unrestrained smiles that involve the eyes, forehead, and even the nose can require up to 53 muscles.

12. It takes more effort to frown than it does to smile

Many people have tested this theory with varying results. The number of muscles required to make a facial expression often depends on the level of emotion and intensity of the expression. That said, making a frown generally takes more facial muscles than making a smile.

13. There are 19 different types of smiles

Smiles take a different shape when a person is nervous, uncomfortable, or even miserable. Scientists have discovered there are 19 different types of smiles. And the smiles are less about what a person is feeling and more about the signals they hope to project to others. Only six of the smiles happen when having a good time and the other 13 are actually reserved for non-enjoyment situations.

14. Smiling is more likely to earn a person a promotion

Happy employees are more likely to be productive than unhappy ones. And smiling makes a person appear more competent and courteous. All of that is more likely to add up to a promotion.

15. A genuine smile is the first thing people notice

Nearly half of the population believes a person’s smile is their most memorable feature. Only 25% of people remember the first thing a person says, but 48% will remember a person’s smile.

Smiles cost nothing but can enrich lives in so many different ways. And these are just a few reasons it is important to keep teeth and gums as healthy as possible, giving patients all the more reason to show off that smile.

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