The smile is such a powerful expression that it has thousands of quotes in many different languages portraying how important it is in our lives.
We live in a competitive world where, like it or not, we are often judged by our appearance, which is unfortunately superficial but cannot be ignored. In school we are always told not to judge a book by its cover, but people do it every day as we live in a society where looking good heavily impacts how we are perceived. And often that first step determines whether you get you in the door.
Doesn’t matter if you are in school, work or business, it has become part of our life that we have to embrace.
So how does flashing your pearly whites make a difference in your life?
Surveys over the past few years have shown that 40% of people notice your smile first when they meet you, compared to only 15% who care about your weight. And for all that effort you put into primping your crowning glory, just 9% bother about your hair. 70% of Americans in a recent survey would be more likely to trust someone with a nice smile.
We are judged by others every day. So your smile has a lot more effect on what others perceive about you than you think.
Many adults are worried about how their teeth and smile might affect their chances for employment or progression in this very competitive job market. Most often than not, the first impression is crucial.
Leading Sales, Real Estate & Direct Marketing professionals revealed that having a great smile is one of the factors why they are more successful.
Studies have indicated that lasting impressions are made within the first 3 seconds of seeing someone and 40% of the time they will notice your smile first.
At a job interview, it would be a huge plus if you have better teeth than other candidates as most people including bosses are more likely to remember attractive features than those they find to be unpleasant.
If a person walks into a job interview with discolored, broken, crooked or missing teeth, he or she may loose out to an applicant who may not necessarily be more qualified, but conveys a more professional appearance.
Business owners have started to appreciate that a great smile can help them in many ways.
How do we develop this biased view of other’s teeth? Apparently from a very young age it seems. Children’s fairy tales often portray the bad guys with yellow and crooked teeth, sometimes with a missing tooth thrown in for good measure. The wicked witch would be another example of this stereotyping. The intellectually challenged characters are often similarly given buck teeth in many children story books.
So, subconsciously, the message driven home is that people with straight teeth are perceived to be successful and smarter.
So does having straight white teeth guarantees you to be successful? Of course not, but it sure gives you an unfair advantage.