Smiles are key for people’s confidence, reveals National Smile Month research

The UK is ready to smile again after two years of confidence-sapping lockdowns and restrictions, according to new research.

The research by Portman Dental Care also found that millions of people are planning to focus on improving their health and lifestyle to help increase their self-esteem, giving reasons to smile again just in time for National Smile Month (May 16 to June 16).

And smiling is a key factor for people’s confidence, particularly as it’s often the first thing they notice about someone they meet.

The research by Portman Dental Care showed those living in London (36%), Wales (33%) and East Anglia (29%), admit their smile gives them the most confidence, when compared to clothes, hair, body image and face.

And smiling is most important for those aged 25-34 (32%) and over 55 (31%), for giving them a confidence boost.

Dr Catherine Tannahill, a dentist and director of dentistry at Portman Dental Care, said: “In National Smile Month it’s great to see the importance people place on a smile.

“We’re working with the Oral Health Foundation to help get the UK smiling and create infectious smiles on all of our faces.

“It takes more muscles to create a frown than a smile and we’ve spent too much time frowning over the last couple of years.

“Those muscles can take a rest as it looks like we’ll be concentrating on our building our smile muscles this year.

“We know that people place importance on a smile, particularly as it’s often the first thing we notice when meeting up with people – something we’re now doing a lot more of again.

“So, what better time to get the UK smiling again than National Smile Month.”

Dr Nigel Carter, CEO of the Oral Health Foundation, said: “The Oral Health Foundation is delighted to be working with dental teams nationwide this National Smile Month to help the public to better oral health and a great smile. Good dental health is an essential factor in good general health and one of the most important factors in having a good quality of life.

“It affects everything from eating, drinking, smiling and every day social interactions. Taking good care of our teeth by brushing twice a day for two minutes with a fluoride toothpaste and going for regular dental visits will keep people smiling into the future. The last few years have been hard for dental health with the coronavirus restricting access to dental treatment.

“COVID, Brexit and other factors have led to an increasing shortage of dental professionals and appointments, putting a great strain on people. Hopefully we will be able to move forward in a positive direction with the aid of this campaign to a better dental health future for all.

“Good oral care practices and a healthy diet with reduced sugar can make a real difference everyone’s smile.”

People living in Northern Ireland (29%), London (28%), the north west and Scotland (both 27%) and those aged 18-34 (53%) notice someone’s smile first, ahead of their eyes, face, hair or what they’re wearing.

The research also revealed the four of the most popular lifestyle changes people are likely to make this year are focusing on their health through exercising or taking up a new sport, spending more time with friends and family, and improving their smile.

And it reveals regional differences to these post-Covid lifestyle changes, with more than 80% of people in the East Midlands, Northern Ireland and Wales promising to take up exercise, compared to just 65% in the South East and East Anglia.

Those living in Wales are also more likely to get a new haircut (53%) and improve their smile (49%), whereas people in London (67%) and the West Midlands (66%) are most likely to spend time with their family and friends.

Dr Tannahill, added: “With Covid restrictions lifted, it’s fascinating to hear what people are going to do with their lives now, particularly with a positive focus.

“The past two years have been extremely demanding on us all, with limited opportunities to focus on our overall health and wellbeing.

“Positive changes and regimes underpin a healthy and balanced lifestyle; be it for mental health, confidence or physical health, including dental wellbeing, so it’s interesting that this is what people are now saying they’ll be focusing on.

“This is really important as May is also Mental Health Awareness month.”

The huge increase in use of video calling for both personal and work situations has led to many people wanting to focus on improving appearance with weight (41%), hair (27%) and teeth (26%) the main concerns.

Dr Tannahill added: “Appearance can influence many of us, and the research indicates how it can impact our self-esteem and has done so during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“However, it can go beyond appearance and therefore as dentists we can play just as big a role in our confidence.

“It is important everyone who has considered changes to their teeth or smile, or even their weight, view this with a health-first lens.

“Dental health does affect our general health and that a healthy foundation is critical if great looking teeth are going to be long lasting.

“A healthy smile is the most important fact about our teeth and something we encourage to anyone visiting our practices.

“The research does shows that concerns about our teeth or smile can have wide-ranging impacts on our lives, from stopping people smiling on photos, low self-confidence, impacting relationships and even people feeling it has held back their careers.

“As dentists our role is to guide patients on regaining their confidence through their smile in the healthiest way possible, so that they feel great again.”