Most of us would consider ourselves to be social beings. We interact with people on a daily basis, whether at home, our workplace, on the street – just about anywhere. For the majority of the day, others surround us. Just as there are various social etiquettes for dining, we can practice oral manners and keep our smile social.

You might be wondering, “What does it mean to ‘make your smile social?’” This is how we see it: most things in life are social – your smile shouldn’t be an exception. You don’t want to have a chunk of your sandwich stuck in your teeth at work from your lunch earlier or bad breath on a first date. Take a look at the following five tips that will help you achieve a smile that’s welcomed by all.

1. Ban your bad breath

Perhaps one of the most common, automatic social turn-offs is having bad breath. No one wants to talk to, let alone be around, someone that has a nasty aroma wafting from their mouths. There are so many things that can be done to take care of this problem – good oral health habits, as well as gum, mouthwash, mouth spray – just to name a few. Any of these will do the trick. Be careful with the gum though (see point #3).

2. Make floss accessible

Most common gross habit #2. How many times have you had a conversation with someone who had a big ‘ol piece of food stuck in between their two front teeth? Were you able to concentrate on anything they were saying? You know that the only thing running through your mind was secretly hoping you washed out the broccoli you just had for lunch from your mouth. So, how do you fix it? Carry a pack of floss in your pocket or purse. After you eat or have a snack, take a quick bathroom break and check yourself to make sure your smile is clear. If not, take that handy little string out and floss those stubborn food sticklers away!

3. Stop the sucking noises

This includes all annoying mouth noises: sucking on teeth, crunching, munching, teeth chattering, etc. They are all irritating to the people around you – and depending on the environment you’re in, could really distract people from what they’re doing. Not to mention, it’s just plain rude. Stop!

4. Keep your hands out of your mouth

If you’re reading this, you’re not a child, so don’t act like one. Habits such as sucking on fingers, chewing on nails, picking at your teeth at the dinner table are rude and not attractive. Not to mention, chances are that you won’t be washing your hands immediately after having them in your mouth – which means that you will most likely be touching other objects and therefore spread the germs in your mouth. This creates sickness and illness for others, and well, you get the point…

5. The more you brush, the better

Our dentist tells us to “brush at least twice a day.” The key words in that statement are “at least.” Brushing your teeth after every meal is a solution that will solve most of your anti-social smile problems (including some of the previous mentioned, e.g. bad breath, flossing, etc.). Stop by your local pharmacy and pick up a toothbrush – travel size. There’s really no excuse for you to be unable to brush your teeth at any given time of the day.

These few tips should get you going on your road towards a clean, fresh smile that you’ll be proud to show off. What it boils down to is consciousness of proper oral health, etiquette and mannerisms. So ask yourself, is your smile social?