Beauty and fashion aren’t just always about looking as good as we can to keep up with the trends. The impressions that we have about our body and how confident we feel about how we present ourselves are important, too, and can play a huge role in allowing us to live with the confidence that we should be feeling.

While a lot of people struggle with body image issues regarding weight, height, figure, and so on, there’s one element that a lot of people struggle with, but aren’t as likely to speak up about: their smile. If you have experienced discoloration, damage, or tooth loss, it might affect your well-being more than you even recognize.

When we’re unconfident in our smiles, it can affect how freely we express ourselves and how much we allow ourselves to interact with others. To avoid isolation, depression, and other ripple effects that come out of low self-confidence, it’s important to know that there are steps you can take to help.

What can be done about discoloration?

By far the most common dental issue that affects our self-image is discoloration. As we get older, our teeth naturally fade in color, but poor dental hygiene, as well as eating and drinking foods that can stain teeth, including coffee, wine, and the like, can speed this up. That said, discoloration is not a particularly tricky thing to tackle. Whitening treatments, which can be done in a dentist's office or with a kit you use at home, are the simplest solution. Dentists usually recommend a combination of in-chair and at-home treatments for the best results. However, there are also veneers, which are effectively porcelain shells that can be placed over the teeth, which can allow you to maintain the appearance of a brighter smile. The discoloration of your teeth should be prevented, too, and there are plenty of kinds of toothpaste designed to specifically do that.

Straightening your smile up

Discoloration may be relatively easy to start treating, but if you have crooked or misaligned teeth, it can feel like a much bigger ask. However, this is a very common issue, usually experienced and treated in youth but, if you never got the treatments when younger or you have started to experience your wisdom teeth coming through, it may be only starting to affect you now. Not every person who experiences teeth that are slightly out of alignment needs to treat it. If it is affecting your confidence or how you speak or eat, however, there are treatments beyond spending months wearing conspicuous metal braces. In fact, invisible aligners are becoming increasingly more common, a more discreet, albeit expensive solution to alignment issues up to a certain degree of severity.

Repairing what’s missing

One of the most serious seeming cases of dental issues is a gap in your smile. A missing tooth, whether it’s due to neglect, medical treatments in the past, or damage that has rendered the tooth impossible to fix, then it can feel very noticeable and very affecting when it comes to our self-confidence and image. It can even affect how you smile. However, with the help of the best dentist available, you can do a lot to fill in what’s missing and complete your smile. There are dental bridges that can be fitted over your other teeth to fill in the gaps with artificial teeth. Crowns and implants can be more permanently attached to the jaw, too, albeit at a higher cost. There are different solutions to suit different budgets so it’s worth looking into.

Giving your gums some care, too

Teeth issues are often joined by gum issues, as the gums are often the first parts of the mouth to start showing symptoms of neglect. In particular, if your gums are inflamed, meaning red and swollen, or they have receded from your teeth, or you’re experiencing bleeding when you brush, you may have gum disease. This can be a stubborn issue to treat and it can get worse, leading to infection and tooth loss, so it’s a good idea to invest in routine cleanings from your dentist as well. Improving your oral routines at home, especially with the help of anti-gum disease mouthwash and toothpaste can be vital, too.

Hopefully, with the tips above, you can better understand not just how important your smile might be to your self-image and confidence, but also the steps that you can begin taking to feel much better about both of them. For some people, oral neglect is a lifelong habit that might have been ingrained in them while young. However, you can always get out of the cycle.

Are You Aware Of How Much Your Teeth Impact Your Self-Image?