The benefits of smiling, from Kirkpatrick and Lai orthodontics

Drs. Kirkpatrick and Lai have some great news to report today! (And it's no April Fools' joke!) People with big, happy smiles may actually out-live those who don’t, according to a new study conducted at Wayne State University in Michigan.

Our team at Kirkpatrick and Lai orthodontics knew that positive emotion has been linked to both physical and mental health, but researchers at the university did something quite interesting: they used information from the Baseball Register to look at photos of 230 players who began their baseball careers prior to 1950 and studied their smile intensity (wide smile, no smile or partial smile). The players' smile ratings were then compared with data from deaths that occurred from 2006 through 2009.

The researchers then took into account other factors associated with longevity of life, such as body mass index, or BMI, career length and, believe it or not, college attendance. They found that players who weren't smiling died at the average age of 72.9 years. Players with partial smiles lived to be 75. Those with big smiles, however, lived on average to be 79.9 years old!

The take-away from the new study? Smile now, smile often and you might just live longer! Have you perfected your smile by visiting Kirkpatrick and Lai orthodontics lately? If not, give us a call today!