The Surprising Benefits Of Kissing

You already know that kissing is fun-but did you also know that it's really, really good for you? If you and your hubs aren't locking lips as often as you used to, here's why it's time to make puckering up a priority again (and again!): 1. It prevents cavities: Say you both just splurged on date-night dessert (and wasn't that molten chocolate lava cake good?). Protect your teeth by kissing! According to the Academy of General Dentistry, kissing has been proven to ramp up saliva production, which is the best thing short of brushing your teeth to combat cavity formation. Saliva contains mineral ions that can also help repair small breaks in your teeth's enamel. Who knew? 2. It boosts your happiness: Stressed? Sad? Bad day at work? Kissing may be the cure. Andr�a Demirjian, author of Kissing: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about One of Life's Sweetest Pleasures, says that kissing releases a potent happiness cocktail of serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin into the bloodstream. 3. It's good for your bank account: Do you kiss your hubby before leaving for work in the morning? You should! It may sound surprising, but one German study found that men who received a long passionate kiss from their wives in the morning made more money than men who didn't kiss before leaving for the office. No word on whether the women in the study reaped monetary rewards from kissing, but we're hoping the benefits are mutual. 4. It's a natural face-lift: Health experts say that we use as many as 30 muscles in our face and neck when smooching, and as a result, a long makeout session really does work to tone up your face and neck muscles. Bonus: It also leaves you looking radiant (yes, even when his scratchy face rubs off most of your makeup).