HONG KONG — A wide, bright smile affords instant attraction, making a person appear warm, welcoming, engaging and engaged.

You will fondly remember a first meeting with a person who greets you with a broad smile.

“Teeth are one of the first things people notice about someone when meeting them for the first time,” Hong Kong-based dentist Dr John Bertrand Chen says. “A smile has a great effect on first impressions and what people perceive about you. Many surveys have shown that people correlate a great smile with success and confidence.”

As we get older and our teeth yellow with age, lengthen with gum recession or even fall out, we may be less inclined to smile. “Bad” teeth – “which often goes hand in hand with bad breath” — are just not attractive, Dr Chen notes.

Good teeth aren’t just important for a winning smile. As we age, good teeth are often an indicator of good health and — in turn — good oral health promotes good overall health.

A recent study by the Korea University College of Medicine in South Korea concludes that poor oral hygiene can provoke atrial fibrillation, an irregular and often rapid heart rate that can increase your risk of stroke and heart failure.

“Periodontal health has put the spotlight on heart disease,” says Hong Kong dentist Dr Peter Kwong. “When you suffer with periodontal/gum disease and bacteria invades bleeding gums, this can increase the risk of heart disease. Cavities in the teeth — also caused by bacteria — can enter the nerve of the tooth and cause pain and infection to other areas of the mouth. Infection may lead to fever and other more advanced health problems if left unattended.”

Poor oral health, Dr Chen says, is caused by poor oral hygiene.

“Because the mouth is the main entryway into the body, and poor oral hygiene results in the build-up of bacteria in the mouth, poor oral health is associated with higher risks of acquiring certain diseases such as cardiovascular disease, dementia, diabetes and respiratory infections.”

In looking after your teeth, you are, it turns out, looking after your physiology as a whole. As Dr Kwong says, as we get older, we visit the doctor to flag or prevent health issues from developing, but we are less good about doing that with our teeth.

He notes that “people often don’t see the dentist as a preventive measure [or] have their teeth checked and cleaned by a hygienist”. Instead, they usually wait until something feels wrong.

A winning smile, Dr Chen says, is about both health and cosmetics.

“An individual with excellent oral hygiene will have a lower bacterial load intraorally and will lessen the chance of gingivitis (inflamed and bleeding gums), periodontal bone loss (to prevent loose teeth or tooth loss), and halitosis (bad breath). This is directly related to the cosmetics of supporting a winning smile, as red gums and missing teeth are widely considered unattractive, while bad breath is unappealing.

“An individual can whiten teeth through professional whitening procedures, straighten teeth through braces or Invisalign, or reshape and whiten teeth through veneers — thin, tooth-coloured shells that are attached to the front surface of teeth.

“As a dentist, my passion lies in cosmetic dentistry so I’m very familiar with veneers. For patients who are unhappy with the colour or shape of their teeth, or who simply just want that ‘million-dollar smile’ as worn by many Hollywood celebrities, veneers are one of the best treatment options.”

Tooth health is further threatened by age because as one gets older, there is less saliva in the mouth, which increases the risk of receding gums and tooth decay. That’s why it is especially important for seniors to maintain good oral hygiene.

But while our dentists work hard to preserve and promote their patients’ winning smiles — what about their own, as well as their mental health?

It’s said that dentists are more prone to suicide than people in other professions. A 2015 study by the American Dental Association revealed that 11 per cent of dentists who responded were diagnosed with depression, while the rate for the general population was 6.7 per cent.

Six per cent of dentists surveyed had an anxiety disorder, while only 3.1 per cent of the general population did. Four per cent of dentists reported panic disorder, while only 2.7 per cent of the general population reported the same.

“It is not clear why dentists apparently have higher rates of suicide,” says Dr Chen, who adds that there are probably many factors involved.

Dr Kwong believes the higher suicide rate is not because of patients not liking their dentist, but more because of the actual stress of being a dentist.

“As dentists, we are often asked to treat a problem and get results immediately and, if the result is not achieved or not achieved as quickly as a patient would like, their dissatisfaction manifests as stress for us. If you visit a doctor with a pain, many tests are done to rule out problems. It may take a while to come to a diagnosis. We don’t have that kind of luxury.”

Dr Chen says patients ought to dread visits less, as “technological advances in equipment and techniques have made the visit to the dentist much less stressful for the patient”.

“For example, a crown for a tooth [used to] take two visits, but improved modern intraoral scanners and milling machines can fabricate crowns in a single visit. Furthermore, it is much more relaxing for the patient as no messy impression material has to be used. Rather, the prepared tooth is quickly and easily scanned by an intraoral scanner.”

A number of dental surgeries, including Dr Kwong’s, strive hard to improve patients’ experience, too. Measures include televisions on the ceiling to distract patients, and disposable headsets to drown out the noise from the instruments used during a visit.

Our own winning smiles, then, aren’t just good for us and our health — they’re pretty good for our dentists’ well-being, too. SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST