First of all, let me wish a belated Happy New Year to all our friends and patients here at L&M. While cruising through a few orthodontic blogs, (yes, I do read orthodontic blogs as well), I ran across an interesting post from a friend of mine practicing in Florida about Americans and their smiles. Here is the gist of his post:

The American Association of Orthodontics recently completed a study in 2012 that reported more than 1/3 of US adults are unhappy with their smile. In brief, heres what the study found after surveying 1,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older.

Better social life with an improved smile; 36 percent of those who were unhappy with their smile believed they would have a better social life if their smile was improved. This was especially true among young adults. 48 percent of Americans ages 18 to 24 have untagged a picture of themselves on Facebook because they didn’t like their smile.

Better romantic life with an improved smile; Bad teeth was given as the #1 dating turnoff among men and women. According to the study, 77 percent of women thought crooked teeth were worse than a receding hairline in a potential love interest. The study also found that 22 percent of Americans who were unhappy with their smile thought that better teeth would lead to a better love life.

Better professional life with an improved smile; 78 percent of Americans perceive adults with crooked teeth to be unsuccessful. Fourteen percent of those unhappy with their teeth felt that they might be missing out on a better job. What do you think?

I was not surprised by these findings, but it is still interesting to see them put down in black and white. Its crazy to think that at least 33% of adults are unhappy with their smile. Are you one of them? If so, 2013 is the year to do something about it! What better New Years Resolution can you promise yourself or someone you love than a new smile?

At L&M, we dont want you to be unhappy about your smile. The first step is to contact our office for a complimentary consultation. All it takes is a phone call or email and you are on your way to realizing your 2013 New Years resolution. We will take it from there!