We would all like to think our intelligence and experience are enough to help us achieve the kind of career we want, but reality is a little different. How you look also has a major impact on your current and future job prospects. But it’s not just the designer suit, pricey shoes, or serious-looking glasses that make the biggest impression. The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry reports that 74 percent of Americans believe an unattractive smile can have a negative impact on their career success. The element that can have a positive impact? A smile makeover.
As the old saying goes, you have to “dress the part” to be taken seriously, considered for the job, or have a chance for the promotion. Are you sporting a stained, crooked, broken-down smile that you spend most of your time trying to conceal? If your career is stuck in neutral, the condition of your teeth may be the reason why.
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Why Your Smile Impacts Your Career

There are so many professions where your appearance is just as important as what you’re selling, promoting, or preaching. From salespeople to teachers, attorneys to retail associates, anyone in a field where there is regular face-to-face contact with clients or customers knows just how critical the right look is. Show up to the board meeting in jeans and a tee and you’ve committed a major faux pas. Show up in a three-piece suit and you’ll fit right in. Unless, of course, your smile is so destroyed that it overshadows any other grooming.

Your smile impacts how you behave.

When your smile is white, straight, and nice to look at, you’ll make a memorable good impression on your colleagues, clients, and customers. A smile makeover can help you look like a CEO (even if you’re at the bottom of the totem pole) and even act like a CEO. When you know you look good your confidence increases tenfold. You’ll be more likely to speak up at meetings, voice your opinion in small groups, and smile widely and often, which will let others see just how friendly, approachable, and self-assured you are. You’ll believe in your own abilities to rise and succeed, and the powers-that-be will help you get there when you show that you have the motivation.

Your smile impacts how others respond to you.

When you aren’t feeling particularly secure about whatever job responsibility you’re tending to or position you’re applying for, the people you’re interacting with will notice. How others perceive you has a direct effect on your job success. If you’re hiding your teeth behind your hand, neglecting to meet anyone’s eyes because you don’t want to see disgust or disdain there, or grinning with your mouth closed (so that it may even look like a grimace), you won’t be swaying anyone to your opinion. If a straight, stunning smile is there to show off, you’ll feel free to throw in a wink, make eye contact, and flash those pearly whites as often as possible to reinforce your sincerity.

Your smile makes you look healthier and younger.

Porcelain veneers are a magic “cure” – they can minimize wrinkles around the mouth and even plump your lips. Whitening your teeth erases years of abusing coffee or soda and make it clear that you take the time to care for your health and well-being. And if you look approachable, and appear to meticulously take care of yourself, then others will believe that you can take care of them – you can be the right attorney to fight their divorce case, the realtor who will find them a rose among thorns, the sales associate who will discover the bridal gown of their dreams.
Sure, maybe some people were born with an amazing set of dental DNA that has opened doors for them – but acknowledging that this bit of their appearance has indeed helped them succeed should be enough encouragement to get you into a dentist’s chair to fix your own smile. Make your appointment with Dr. John Moore at Cosmetic Dental Associates in San Antonio to discuss your future smile, and give your resume a serious boost.