Smile. Yeah, just like that. It’s much better. Do you agree that smiling makes people more beautiful, pleasant and appealing? Look. In the whole world, at any culture, in the Orient or in the Occident, the smile is always present. It may be the most universal gesture. The persons get closer, it "breaks the ice", clears the atmosphere. Realize that here also Chemistry contributes so that there may be nicer smiles and in larger numbers all over the world.

Are you smiling because you think I am kidding? Think a little more. With the contribution of Chemistry, mankind could not have available products like the dentifrice and toothbrush. These accessories of the so much needed hygiene of the mouth are real smile boosters – after all, without them, many smiles would not exist or be less expressive. Have you checked the formula of your preferred dentifrice? Check now. You will certainly find, among others, chemicals like fluor, sorbitol, calcium carbonate, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium saccharin and so forth, and so forth. These are the products that, together with the toothbrush, made of plastics of chemical origin, clean and strengthen gums and teeth, leaving a more pleasant halitus, guaranteeing the presence of uninhibited and joyful smiles. Do not think that the participation of Chemistry stops there. Dental floss, so necessary to complement the brushing, is made of nylon, of the chemical family. The products that enhance your halitus have in their composition fluor, cetylpiridinium chloride, sorbitol and sodium fluoride, among other chemicals. And we are not mentioning the real battery of products developed by Chemistry so that the dentists may fight cavities and restore teeth and smiles.

Well, you may say that before Chemistry, we also could smile and do our mouth hygiene with other products. It’s true. But we cannot deny that, without the discoveries of Chemistry, we would have less smiles, because access to products for mouth hygiene would be restricted to a small number of lucky persons. Watch and see: without Chemistry, all would be more difficult, even getting a good smile. Therefore, smile!

Original Text: Luiz Carlos de Medeiros ( MTb: 12.293) Translation: Joe Vianna (translat@mvpisp.com)