Doctors have been studying the benefits of smiling for years and the research has shone that it can have a positive effect on your health and wellbeing.

Smiling reduces stress and releases endorphins, triggering a positive feeling in the body.

“I will never understand all the good things that a simple smile can accomplish.” Mother Teresa

It turns out that there just may be a connection between smiling and longevity. In 2010, Ernest Abel and Michael Kruger conducted a research project at Wayne State University where they studied baseball card photos of Major League players in 1952. They discovered that the players who didn’t smile in their pictures lived an average of only 72.9 years, while players with beaming smiles lived an average of 79.9 years.

In March of 2011, Ron Gutman, founder and CEO of Health Tap, gave a presentation at TED called “The hidden power of smiling.” He talked about the effect smiling has on the brain. Smiling stimulates our brain reward mechanism in a way that even chocolate; a well-regarded pleasure inducer cannot match. British researchers found that one smile can generate the same level of brain stimulation as up to 2,000 bars of chocolate. The same study found that smiling is as stimulating as receiving up to $25,000. WOW that’s $25,000 per smile.

A recent study at Penn State University found that when you smile, you appear to be more likable, courteous and competent.

People with beautiful smiles just radiate confidence and self-esteem. Unfortunately, some people feel embarrassed about their smile because they may have misaligned or crooked teeth. You can see them cover their mouth when they smile. The good news is that a qualified orthodontist can help straighten their teeth and give them a smile they will be proud of.