How to Get a Perfect Hollywood Smile

The smile is a natural when it comes to displaying joy and good fortune, but it also comes in handy when a situation calls for revealing self-assurance and strength of character. Here are some tips for taking care of this most important competition asset.

The smile is the most radiant form of communication we have with one another. When someone smiles at us, we smile back. It's natural. It's not forced. It's real. It's real because we communicate naturally by smiling at one another. When we celebrate, cheer, or laugh, we do it all while smiling. When we feel good about something and we're eager to tell someone, we smile. That makes everyone else smile with us.

Pageant and celebrity competition is all about the smile, too. We can be swept away by the celebration, the cheerfulness, and the eagerness. We can do all of this because we can smile. Our Miss USA, Rachel Smith, slipped and fell during her walk in her gown at the Miss Universe pageant earlier this year, and yet she kept smiling. Yes, we love the gowns, adore the swimsuits, and enjoy the atmosphere. But above it all, no matter what styles change for us, no matter what happens to us along the way, we can always count on our smile to lift us up and bring our celebration, our cheerfulness, our laughter to others. To everyone else who is eager to join us in just communicating in a simple way to the known and the unknown admirers who surround us all, let's communicate with all of them through the enduring gift of our smile.

Q: How do I keep my smile healthy? There are so many products available to use. I don't know how to choose the right ones for me.

A: You're right. There are a large number of dental product choices to keep our teeth healthy, how do we get through all of the hype? The number one thing you can do is ask your dentist. Only he or she knows what will give you the most benefit for maintaining your smile. There are many brands of toothpastes, toothbrushes, mouth rinses, and gum cleaners. Try a selection of products and let your dentist tell you his findings. The products that work best for you need to absolutely demonstrate that they deliver the best results for you.

Professional fluorides and whitening agents may also be needed to keep your smile bright. Ask about the addition of these products to your normal oral hygiene routine. You may find that these products can help to strengthen and lighten a smile even during periods when staining of your teeth begins to develop prior to your next teeth cleaning with the hygienist. The amount of stain you accumulate on your teeth over time may indicate how frequently you should visit the dentist or hygienist to remove these stains and return your smile to a more pleasing and healthy one. Good home care with the right products for you and an oral hygiene teeth cleaning schedule at the dental office anywhere from two to four times a year (depending on the amount of stain and tartar build-up) will go a long way in keeping a smile healthy.

Q: When I was younger, I had two cavities in my teeth filled with silver fillings. Can these be removed and replaced with something tooth-colored without hurting the teeth?

A: I truly believe that anything repaired or replaced in the mouth should not compromise or alter the improvement of our appearance or self-esteem if we so choose. Fortunately today, we can improve the look of teeth and increase our self-esteem when we deliver good, safe cosmetic dental care. Fillings in teeth don't have to be ugly. Deciding to replace the silver fillings with more modern dental materials is a welcome alternative for you, because you are not satisfied with the appearance they bring to the teeth. Choose a cosmetic dentist who will listen to your concerns and give you the best choices for removing and replacing the fillings you want to change.

Q: I grind my teeth. Is there anything that I can wear that can stop me from doing this?

A: There is. Teeth grinding can be minimized and even be eliminated. Removal of the cause of the grinding is the most important approach in gaining a stable bite that successfully halts or comfortably reduces the grinding habit. Some devices and appliances can be made to fit over teeth to absorb the grinding habit from severely wearing down the teeth, as so often happens. Many of these constructed appliances are worn temporarily until the bite can be adjusted or until more permanent solutions, such as orthodontics, are in place. Other devices may only mask symptoms or prevent the upper and lower teeth from biting with one another, which eliminates the chance to grind. These, too, give only temporary relief.

It is necessary that you have a complete and thorough evaluation by a dentist who is schooled in managing problems related to the dental bite and can find and relieve the source of the grinding. Neuromuscular dentists and dentists trained in temporomandibular joint disorders (commonly referred to as TMJ), are likely to be the most helpful at finding solutions to your grinding habit.

Taken with permission from Pageantry Magazaine from the article Ask the Smile Expert: Saving Face.

Dr. Mark Falco DMD, MS, is a 1985 graduate of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and a master's program recipient in Human Nutrition at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. He has taught part-time at several undergraduate schools and hosted his own daytime radio show. He has written articles for dental publications and completed a book on carbohydrate management entitled The Preservation of Health: Managing Carbohydrate Intake for Life . Dr. Falco has attended the LSU School of Dentistry's Cosmetic Continuum program, become a graduate of the Las Vegas Institute of Advanced Dental Studies, and has been an active member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, the Academy of General Dentistry and the American Dental Association. He moved to Florida in 1991, and has recently built a leading-edge dental and skin-care facility in Lake Mary, Florida, a neighboring community to Orlando.

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