Salvage a smile.

Published Meath Chronicle 28th January 2015.

Some of the worst things in life had happened to him between those sweaty walls. But like the others he kept returning. Every time he entered their veiled faces acknowledged him, at once promising everything yet always disappointing, each one reflected the others dull failures until today was yesterday and yesterday could have been tomorrow.

This morning, the bar was different; a new drinker with a bag at his feet, propped up the woodwork surrounded by the usual posse.  There were two ways you could ingratiate yourself with the early boozers - court them with tales of drunkenness or buy your way in. Given the early hour he decided this guy was a high-roller and that meant free drink. He ordered a scotch and started on the periphery to worm his way in.

Far off, the man appeared well dressed but now up close the blue suit had seen better days. The sleeves were threadbare and the shiny patches on the trousers reminded him of our brittle Irish sea. Mulling the thought along with his third whiskey, he returned to the action. “So, what do you do mate?” the local interrogated the stranger.

The pained expression spoke volumes. But it was already too late, he´d opened a can the morning crew knew only too well - the well-paid job, the fancy car, the private schools, then the crisis and after, redundancy, banks, bankruptcy and divorce. By the time the man had finished his dirge, the other drinkers had drifted off and now they were only two. Guilt at the question and no money, the local stayed put. “What´ll ye have mucker”, the new boy chirped up having now unburdened himself.

He rummaged and pulled out a last crumpled note. Unable to hide his disappointment the local lashed down his juice while the suit smiled and slurred, “In reality, all I have left of any value are these” pointing to his teeth and smiling broadly. So perfect and white were they Michelangelo could have carved them from Italian marble. “Jaysus mate, with teeth like that you should smile more often!” They both laughed until the drink was gone.

“If ye want more drink follow me mucker”, the visitor picked up his bag and they left. It was bright and clear outside. “Where are we headed?” the local staggered in the wake of a man on a mission. He ignored the questions until they were deep in the estate. “We´re on a salvage job”, said the suit, finally stopping outside a smart, detached house. Before the next question he´d jimmied the door and walked in. “But isn´t this illegal?” he stuttered as the stranger closed the door and then proceeded to take a crowbar and shiny hammer from his satchel.

With surgical precision he sliced and tore up the entrance wall exposing the wiring then neatly extracted it from the connections. Together they pulled it out and bunched it up. From room to room, they team-worked until the bag was full of balled-up copper wire. When they´d finished in the attic the local finally broke his silence, “This scrap will buy us a load of drink mate but don´t you feel bad for the owner?”

“No, mucker”, replied the suit, “This is my house”, and he gave his new friend that perfect white smile.    

Dr Don Mac Auley.

What´s in a smile?

Published in Meath Chronicle 28/12/2012

His head tilted, the guitarist tickled the strings and the other clapped, chirped and warbled. They slowed as a small girl strode into the arena wearing a tight, colourful dress. A staccato of feet and she commanded the stage and the viewers' attention. Her hair was oiled and scraped back, face locked in concentration, she battered the boards. Thrusting her hips forward; spinning, scolding, then inviting. We feared the wooden platform would give way under the dancer´s energy but it held firm as she hovered in a display that defied gravity. We too, were sweating when she threw her arms into the air and her features finally relaxed into a broad grin. We took to our feet, smiling back among roars of applause.

A flamenco show, a whispered joke, a warm embrace, the emotion seethes to our brain tickling the left anterior temporal region which fires impulses to our face where two muscles stir into action. The zygomatic major which lies along the cheek pulls our lips upwards and the orbicularis oculi muscle encircling the eye socket lifts our brows and squeezes the corners of our eyes. The entire process lasts between one and four seconds.

Other muscles can mimic a smile but only this intimate tango produces the expression known as a “Duchenne smile”. Named after the French anatomist Guillaume Duchenne, it is an indicator of positive emotion. He honed his theories in the nineteenth century by shocking the heads of executed criminals. Although a smile can reflect various emotions, including embarrassment, deceit, and grief, Duchenne noted that the eyes held the secret to expressing true joy.

Guillaume Duchenne, anatomist & neurologist (1806-1875)

Since then, our understanding of the smile has raised more eyebrows. We now know that the intensity of a grin can predict marital and personal happiness, and maybe even how long we´ll live. The saying that “a smile is a window to the soul” rings true for researchers at the University of California who analysed the college yearbook photos of women. They followed their personal lives for the next 30 years and discovered those women who had more Duchenne-like expressions in their photo at 21 years old also had higher levels of wellbeing and marital satisfaction at 52. Another study that rated the smiles of baseball players from photos taken in1952 concluded that those with positive smiles were half as likely to have died that those who didn´t.

Mental health experts have also noticed that wherever positive emotions go, "Duchenne" smiles follow. Patients with depression displayed such smiles more on release interviews than during their admissions; the patient´s smiling also increased throughout therapy as their condition improved.

The universality of smiling and that we begin so young has lead to the conclusion that this particular human expression has more to do with evolution than culture. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that newborns can accurately display and interpret facial expressions. At just 10 months, for instance, an infant will offer a false smile to a stranger while reserving a genuine, "Duchenne" smile for its mother. Other studies showed that when mothers faked depression, infants shook their tiny fists in distress while after just 3 minutes of smile-free interaction they became withdrawn.

Infants as young as 10 months know the value of a smile.

Science has identified possible reasons why we find a smile attractive. MRI scans of subjects viewing pretty faces have shown activity in the part of the brain that produces sensory rewards. The activity increased when a smile was added to the mix. So, not only, does a smile make us more attractive to others it helps us feel better about ourselves. So this holiday Navan Dental hopes you´ll all be smiling and remember the words of Louis Armstrong, “the whole world smiles with you”.