How Your Smile Is The Ultimate Productivity Tool

The revealing link between teeth and productivity

Image created by author using DALL-E

Watching the Olympics this year, I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the incredible teeth of the American athletes.

Seriously, their smiles were flawless! It got me thinking—how is it that Americans, not just celebrities, but everyday people I’ve encountered in my work too, have such amazing teeth?

Now, I know this is a generalised statement, but looking at this as a Brit, there is quite a drastic difference between the standard American smile and that of a Brit or European!

An unusual question popped into my head: could there be a connection between those perfect smiles and productivity?

Bear with me; I promise this goes somewhere interesting.

Our Ancestors and Their Perfect Teeth

“I’ve never seen a hunter-gatherer skull with crooked teeth”. - Richard Klein, Stanford Palaeontologist

Did you know that our ancient ancestors had almost perfect teeth? Yes, no braces and no fillings.

Fast forward to today, and nine in ten people have teeth that are at least slightly misaligned, or maloccluded, and three quarters of us have wisdom teeth that do not have enough room to emerge properly.

So, what changed?

Well, a lot actually. Over time, our diet, our daily routines, and even how we sleep have evolved—sometimes for the better, sometimes not so much.

Diet and Movement: The Big Shift

Our ancestors ate foods that were, for lack of a better word, tough.

They were chomping down on natural, unprocessed goodies that required serious chewing power.

This not only kept their teeth in line but also strengthened their jaws.

Compare that to today’s diet, which is often filled with soft, processed foods and sugars that can lead to dental issues like misalignment and decay. (You can read more about this in James Nestor’s book Breath).

And let’s not forget about movement. Back then, people were always on the move—hunting, gathering, and living by the sun’s natural rhythm.

Nowadays, many of us are stuck sitting for hours, bathed in artificial light, staring at screens and struggling with erratic sleep patterns.

These modern habits are impacting our overall health and, by extension, our productivity.

A Personal Connection

This whole teeth-productivity connection really started to click for me during my pregnancies.

My midwife kept reminding me to take extra care of my teeth because pregnancy hormones can wreak havoc on your gums.

And, every time I visited my Chinese medicine practitioner to help me with my various pregnancy ailments, she would start by checking my tongue to gauge my overall health.

It was eye-opening to realise how much our mouths can tell us about our bodies—and our lives.

Teeth, Health, and Productivity: The Big Picture

Here’s where it all comes together: our teeth, gums, and mouth are like mirrors reflecting our broader health.

When our oral health starts to decline, it’s often a sign that something else is off—maybe it’s our diet, lack of exercise, or high stress levels.

And guess what?

Those same factors that affect our teeth can also drag down our productivity.

After all, if we’re not feeling our best, how can we possibly do our best work?

A Holistic Take on Productivity

So, what’s the takeaway here?

Just like you can work towards a perfect smile by returning to a more natural diet and lifestyle, you can boost your productivity by doing the same.

Think of it as a holistic approach: moving more, eating mindfully, getting enough sleep, and managing stress.

It’s not about quick fixes but about making lifestyle changes that address the root causes of both poor dental health and low productivity.

As we move into a new season, it’s a good time to check-in on ourselves and assess where we’re at with our current lifestyle, so we can show ourselves some love. Here are a few areas to get you started:

• Nutrition - are you getting enough variety and and eating for optimal health?

• Movement - are you moving enough throughout the whole week, not just at the weekends when you have more time?

• Sleep - are you getting enough sleep and/or good enough quality sleep?

• Mental - are you getting enough time for you to just be you and completely switch off?

• Spiritual - are you connecting to your own belief system often enough?

• Intellectual - are you learning and expanding your knowledge in a way that would be beneficial for the lifestyle that you want?

Wrapping It Up

When you look at the decline in our dental health—from our ancestors’ perfect teeth to today’s common issues—you see a similar pattern in how our productivity has changed over time.

But by learning from what made those ancient smiles so great, we can find ways to improve how we live and work today.

And who knows? Maybe those perfect American smiles are a small part of why they topped the Olympic medal table again this year.

To increase your productivity, assess your current lifestyle choices. Are you getting the basics that you need in order to be at the top of your game?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

-Selda

P.S. If you’d like to learn more about how to build a life you love, here are a few ways I can help you:

Personal guidance and coaching to find more hours each day:

🤝Work with me 1-1

Double your productivity and do more of what matters to you:

🚀Supercharge Your Productivity: Take the stress out of your week and juggle all of your jobs without working yourself to death

⚖️7 Proven Strategies to a Better Work Life Balance: Spend less time at work and more time on the things you really want to do

Read next…

When You Learn New Skills, Challenge Yourself Too