While your smile may only make up a small component of your overall physical look, it plays a leading role in your psychological health and well-being. Several studies have linked people’s self-confidence levels to the health and beauty of their smiles. Researchers have also determined that smiling helps release mood-boosting endorphins, relieves stress, and even lowers heart rates. In fact, one study determined that the health benefits of smiling are even produced when smiles are faked.

People tend to consider whiter and brighter teeth so crucial to the aesthetics of their smile that most toothpaste brands, mouthwashes, and many other products—such as gum—now come with whitening additives. While these products may help whiten teeth a bit, professional teeth whitening remains the only surefire way to whiten teeth. Many people balk at professional in-office teeth whitening treatment offered by dentists due to their high costs. Instead, they turn to over-the-counter teeth whitening kits.

“Edentulism” and “edentulous” are two words you may not have heard before, but they’re relevant to the oral health of countless people nationwide. “Edentulism” is the clinical term for toothlessness, with the loss of some teeth called partial edentulism and the loss of all called complete edentulism. “Edentulous” is an adjective that describes the state of having lost all of one’s teeth.