World Smile Day 2019: From Stroke to Depression, 6 Things Your Smile Says About Your Health

Happy World Smile Day 2019! This day dedicated to the most beautiful curve on your body- the smile. Mother Teresa once said: "We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do." Indeed a simple smile can be very powerful and speak better than words, at times. A smile can also tell a lot about your health and how your body and mind are doing from within. Do not underestimate the power of your grin and how it can be a reflection of your health. We all know there are different types of smiles, but even health-wise, your smile can be distinguished into different types, each one indicating something about what's going on in your body. Here Are a Few Things What Your Smile Says About Your Body:

1. Lopsided Smile

A smile that is uneven or lopsided can be a cause for medical emergency. Such smiles can indicate health conditions right from stroke to bells palsy. Facial paralysis in stroke affects the facial nerve inside the brain. The damage done to the brain tissue and nerves is caused by lack of oxygen. Bells palsy, on the other hand, causes sudden but often a temporary weakness in your facial muscles, making half of your face appear to droop. How To Recognise The Symptoms of A Stroke FAST!

2. Dry Lip Smile

Someone flashing a dry lip smile may be suffering from dehydration. Lack of fluids in your body can be one of the many reasons that you have a chapped lip smile. If your smile features flaky dried lips, you must take it seriously.

3. Swollen Gums

A swollen gum smile can indicate gingivitis(a condition that causes inflammation of the gums or gingiva) or even arteriosclerosis (hardening and thickening of the walls of the arteries). People with gum disease (also known as periodontal disease) have two to three times the risk of having a heart attack, stroke, or other serious cardiovascular events and swollen gums can act as a big sign. 5 Oral Health Symptoms You Should NEVER Ignore.

4. Shaking Smile (Quivering Lips)

Having a shaky, quivering smile may indicate ingestion of too much caffeine, potassium deficiency, stress or even medicinal side effects.

5. Cracked Mouth Smile

A cracked mouth smile can suggest moangular cheilitis that is usually caused by nutritional deficiencies of iron and zinc. The problem is usually caused by saliva collecting at the corners of the mouth and a build-up of microorganisms. While it may not be a serious health condition, it does last for long and causes discomfort.

6. Perfect Smile

Sometimes a perfectly normal-looking smile can indicate health issues way more severe than you think. We are talking about mental health here. A depressed person doesn't have to visibly be at bad state of mind. A person who smiles a lot or comes across as a happy person may have "Smiling Depression."

There you go; your smile doesn't only suggest how happy you are but can also indicate major physical and mental health problems. This World Smile Day, promise yourself to not let anything come in the way of your beautiful smile.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 04, 2019 09:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).