Toxins and improper facial posture, along with several other factors, have sparked a rise of more than 3.5 million kids and teens alone getting orthodontist work done per year.

Back in hunter-gatherer times, people didn’t have access to technological advancements like Invisalign or braces, but they didn’t need it either. The rise of agriculture and industrialism has brought about processed foods that don’t require as much chewing. Using our jaws less has changed the evolution of our jaws, making them smaller and bringing about the expansion of orthodontia.

Due to a combination of modern technology like orthodontics, and ancient techniques, like mewing, anyone insecure about their smile can resolve these insecurities. It’s comforting to know we are in this together, and there are dozens of resources to be utilized.

If you’re sitting there thinking about how to improve your smile, the following list of resources helps to improve your smile and boost your confidence.

How to Improve Your Smile: A Guide

The list includes a range of solutions to target most smile insecurities. Some will seem simple enough, and some you most likely have never heard of before.

1. Oil Pulling

Bacteria stick to all surfaces of the mouth. Brushing your teeth twice a day may not be enough to overcome the bacteria that live in your mouth. It’s even a running joke that when you date a dentist, they’ll make you brush your teeth each time after you eat. It isn’t always practical to keep a toothbrush on hand and remember to brush after every snack.

One thing you can do to reduce the number of bacteria in your mouth without having to brush your teeth after every snack and meal is oil pulling. Oil pulling with coconut oil reduces the number of bacteria and yeast in your mouth, contributing to bad breath, disease, and decay.

An overgrowth of candida, or a build-up of yeast in the body, is typically displayed with a white film over the tongue, called thrush. While reducing processed, sugary, and starchy foods will help eliminate this yeast, oil pulling can speed up the process by flushing out the excess yeast on the tongue.

To oil pull and get the benefits to improve your smile with better oral hygiene, start by swishing a tablespoon of coconut oil in your mouth for about 10-20 minutes per day. You can do this three times a day, or three times a week.

2. Elimination

How to improve your smile brighter: eliminate certain toxins from coming in contact with your mouth. Smoking and caffeine consumption causes yellowing of the teeth. Sugar leads to the denigration of tooth quality. Though not commonly mentioned alongside caffeine and smoke, alcohol is acidic and will stain your teeth as well.

Preventing staining through eliminating or limiting your caffeine, sugar, and alcohol intake while abstaining from smoking will give you a healthy baseline to start with when it comes to how to improve your smile whiter.

3. Routine and Streak

Keeping up with a routine integrates positive dental habits to assist you to improve your smile. Find what works for you and stay consistent. If it’s easier to incorporate oil pulling as part of your weekly self-care routine – do that. If it’s easier to whiten your teeth before bed or while you take a bath – do that.

It doesn’t quite matter the order of the routine; make it a ritual. Establish a streak as well. Repeating a positive habit more than three times in a row makes it way more likely to continue doing it than if the foundation of the routine has not been established.

We don’t gripe that we have to take a shower to clean our bodies, so don’t gripe about oil pulling or whitening your teeth to have the best smile possible. And the best smile possible is about confidence.

4. Confidence, Posture, Mewing

Improving your confidence will ultimately enhance your smile.

Practicing good posture builds confidence. A straight spine has many benefits, like improving brain function by increasing the amount of oxygen entering the brain.

Posture is subconsciously associated with safety. Poor posture communicates the subconscious message that we are unsafe, making us retreat inwards and defend our body and internal organs by making them inaccessible to surrounding predators. On the flip side, good posture removes us from survival mode, ensuring the mind that we are safe to express ourselves and exude confidence in our surroundings.

Similar to posture, mewing can create confidence by exercising the jaw to change the jawline’s shape. Subtle facial feature changes can come from the practice of this simple exercise. Start by relaxing your mouth and jaw. Press and flatten your tongue against the roof of your mouth, making sure not to touch your teeth. Try to get the back of your tongue to the top of the roof of your mouth, which can be done by saying ‘ng’ or words like ‘sing, bring, swing.’

Try mewing exercises and maintaining good posture whenever you notice you’re slouching for at least a month, and document the increase in confidence in your smile.

5. Invisalign

If all these practices don’t seem enough, and you’re still thinking that your crooked teeth are holding you back, the last question to ask yourself is, ‘Should I get Invisalign?”

Braces are one way to go if you want help straightening your teeth, but think of Invisalign as braces’ more intelligent cousin. The benefits of Invisalign help in how to improve your smile and be comfortable in your skin.

Confidence is one of the best benefits of Invisalign. You can be confident that you aren’t showing a clunky mouth full of metal when you smile. Food won’t get stuck in your teeth, and there isn’t a bright and shiny display in your mouth screaming to the whole world, “Hey, I have crooked teeth!”

You can go incognito with Invisalign, reaping the benefits of having straighter teeth and a more beautiful smile while remaining confident throughout the teeth straightening process.

Invisalign is also convenient. They can be removed when eating or when you feel like your teeth need a break. They’re not as painful as conventional braces.

Start Now

Since you’re in the market for a better smile, utilizing these practices, techniques, and resources will be sure to influence your smile. It’s not about how others perceive us but also how we perceive ourselves. We want the best for ourselves, with the ability to be confident and happy on the inside and outside.

This is a process, but ‘how to improve your smile’ will never be googled again with implementing a simple new routine and exploring easy teeth straightening options such as Invisalign.

I challenge you to pick three of the five tips you learned today and apply them to your daily routine for a week. For example, if you choose oil pulling, start practicing nightly. If you decide you want Invisalign, check out consultation appointment options. Whichever direction you head, there is no going back to a timid smile.