Melissa Methven Marks Suicide Prevention Awareness Month With The Truth Behind the Smiles

Registered dental hygienist and author Melissa Methven revisits her book on grief and suppressed emotion during National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.

TAMPA, FL, UNITED STATES, September 1, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

As National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month begins this September, registered dental hygienist, keynote speaker, and podcast host Melissa Methven is drawing renewed attention to her book The Truth Behind the Smiles: Suppression, the Silent Killer How to Find Hope, Never Give Up, and Cultivate Resiliency. Methven wrote the book after her husband Scott, a dentist, died by suicide, leaving her to raise their two children alone. It is her account of that loss and the emotional suppression she believes made it harder to see coming, paired with the tools she used to keep moving forward, and it has reached a 4.8 out of 5 star rating from readers on Amazon.

Methven built her career in Wasilla, Alaska, working chairside alongside her husband before his death in 2022 changed the direction of her work entirely. Dentistry, she says, carries some of the same suppression she writes about: a profession built around composure, where providers are trained to stay steady for the patient in the chair no matter what they are carrying. The Truth Behind the Smiles argues that the instinct to hold everything together, in a marriage, a practice, or a family, is often the thing that needs to be named before it can be healed. September's national awareness month, Methven says, is the moment to say that plainly, out loud, again.

"I used to think staying strong meant staying quiet. It doesn't. It means finding the people and the words that let you say the hard thing before it becomes the unthinkable thing. That's what this book is: the conversation I wish someone had started with Scott, and the one I'm asking readers to start with the people they love," said Melissa Methven, RDH.

The Truth Behind the Smiles is available now on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle editions, and as an audiobook Methven narrated herself in both English and French, a format she chose so the book could reach francophone readers navigating the same grief. She is also the author of The Gut God Connection, the founder of the Calm Chair System, a guided-audio nervous system tool used by dental practices nationwide, and the host of the Not Alone podcast, where she interviews guests navigating grief, addiction, and mental health. She has appeared on Legacy Makers TV and CWTV, and reaches more than 33,000 followers on Instagram, her largest platform, where she writes openly about widowhood, faith, and nervous system health, at a following she has built since her husband's death.

National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month runs each September to encourage open conversation about suicide, reduce stigma, and connect people in crisis to support and resources. Methven is using the month to point readers back to The Truth Behind the Smiles as a resource for anyone suppressing grief, stuck in a dark season, or supporting someone who is, and to remind readers that a private struggle does not have to stay private to be survived. More on the book and her work is available at melissamethven.com

ABOUT MELISSA METHVEN

Melissa Methven, RDH, is a registered dental hygienist, keynote speaker, certified breathwork facilitator, and the author of The Truth Behind the Smiles and The Gut God Connection. She is the founder of the Calm Chair System, a guided-audio nervous system tool for dental practices, and the host of the Not Alone podcast. Her work centers on nervous system health, mental health in the dental profession, and suicide prevention. Melissa Methven is represented by Moon Media Affairs.

ABOUT MOON MEDIA AFFAIRS

Moon Media Affairs is a Florida-based public relations and media agency specializing in strategic communications, brand positioning, media relations, and reputation management. The agency represents celebrities, influencers, entrepreneurs, executives, health and wellness leaders, and other high-profile individuals and brands. With a focus on finding the story, promoting the message, and protecting the reputation, Moon Media Affairs helps clients strengthen their public presence and navigate today's fast-moving media landscape.

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