20 May 2016

We all love to smile but have you ever wondered when the UK’s ‘smiliest’ time of the week is? Well we have found the answer.

As part of National Smile Month’s 40th Birthday celebrations the Oral Health Foundation took it upon themselves to find out on which of the 10,080 minutes which make up a week, the great British public are most likely to smile.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most popular answer was exactly five o’clock on a Friday afternoon.

Maybe it’s the promise of two lie-ins over the weekend, of not having to be rudely awoken by the sound of an incessant alarm, of breakfast in bed, or even the thought of getting outside for some fresh air.

It might even the prospect of spending quality time with our family and friends; but it would seem that once the working work is finally over, the majority of us are beaming from ear-to-ear.

The nationwide survey involving more than 2,000 UK adults also discovered the time which we are least likely to smile. In what is the complete antithesis to the most popular, it’s bang on 7 o’clock on a Monday morning. It would appear that the prospect of a tenuous and often strenuous commute before embarking on a whole week of work really is enough to wipe the smile from our face.

Well at least there are only 6,360 minutes until we are all at our smiliest again! We have even made a handy Smiley and Frowny index of the smiliest and frowniest times across a week so you can see how you compare as the week progresses.

During National Smile Month the Oral Health Foundation is encouraging everyone to smile as often as they can. We are asking everyone to try and flash someone a grin on your Monday morning commute as well as your way out on a Friday afternoon. You may give them the best kick start to their week and who knows you may set yourself up for a bright week ahead.

A smile is an incredibly powerful tool and is worth remembering it is one we all possess; a simple smile can make others around you feel at ease, it’s highly contagious and plays such an important role in our lives that we should make our oral health top priority.

National Smile Month 2016 is being supported by some of the nation’s best-known brands and retailers including; Wrigley’s Extra, Oral-B as platinum sponsors of the campaign, with further support from Polo sugar-free and Philips Sonicare.

Together, with thousands of individuals and organisations, National Smile Month highlights three key messages, all of which go a long way in helping us develop and maintain a healthy mouth. They are:

• Brush your teeth last thing at night and on at least one other occasion with a fluoride toothpaste.

• Cut down on how often you have sugary foods and drinks.

• Visit your dentist regularly, as often as they recommend.