If you’re looking for your perfect match, having a healthy smile is more important than you might think! Here’s everything you need to know.

A recent survey by Match.com showed a great smile is the single most important factor for both men and women choosing potential partners. 71% of women and 58% of men said that a great smile was important to them in picking their partner. However, only 22% of people know when a relationship has ended due to dental health issues!

Here are three ways oral health can enhance — or sabotage! — your dating game:

Making a Good Impression: Keep your teeth clean

Your smile immediately impacts your dating game. In fact, the first thing both women and men notice about a date is their teeth. There are many reasons why a clean, beautiful smile makes a good impression — a healthy smile instantly makes you appear more kind, approachable, and confident. 

An advisor on the Match.com survey applied a Darwinian perspective to beautiful smiles, claiming that good teeth are an indication of good health and hygiene. It’s certainly true that maintaining a clean, healthy, and attractive smile is a sign of personal care — something your potential partner will notice!

Stop a Stinky Situation: Avoid bad breath

Just like your smile, your breath is something your date notices right away. People are attracted to nice-smelling people, partially due to pheromones that humans secrete and pick up on instinctually. But also, at the risk of being obvious, unpleasant smells can turn someone off right away. 

Even with a beautiful smile, having bad breath (or halitosis) could deter your date from leaning in for a kiss. When it comes to long-term relationships, halitosis makes it hard for your partner to initiate or reciprocate intimate gestures and physical closeness. Also, many people find it difficult to bring up halitosis to their partner — 58% of people who decided not to date a partner due to bad breath gave another reason for the breakup. 

Bad breath doesn’t just get in the way of dating. Halitosis, which is caused by parasitic mouth-dwelling bacteria, can build up below the gum line and lead to gum disease. Maintaining good oral hygiene habits can prevent this bacteria from latching onto your teeth, helping your mouth become healthier and better-smelling.

Problems Down the Road: Complications with dental issues

Not taking proper care of your teeth and gums leads to issues like bad breath, dirty smiles, and making a foul impression on your date. But poor dental hygiene, especially if you contract gum disease because of it, can lead to larger issues when it comes to romance and relationships.

Men with gum diseases like chronic periodontitis could be twice as likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction, especially for young men who are age 40 and below. Gum disease like gingivitis often presents itself or worsens during pregnancy, and could even lead to pregnancy complications like low birth weight and premature birth. 

Up Your Dating Game with Espire

It’s important to address your dental health now, so you can feel confident in present and future relationships. Unlike finding The One, practicing regular oral healthcare is pretty easy! And like being in a relationship, oral health takes more than just keeping up appearances. 

Tackle your dental hygiene with the healthcare professionals at Espire Dental! Our team of experts can help you treat dental problems from the inside out for a beautiful, healthy smile that will last throughout your “happily ever after” ending. Schedule an appointment with our La Mesa, CA practice today.