Say Cheese

I don’t know about you, but I am obsessed with teeth. I can’t help but focus on the condition of one’s perfectly straight pearly whites, or unfortunate lack thereof. (Ask my youngest daughter – she blames me for her current obsession as well). When people ask me what I find as an important physical feature for the opposite sex to possess, rather than a head full of hair, smooth skin or even beefy biceps, a beautiful smile tops my list. I know, hard to believe but true. I can’t help but be dismayed by someone who doesn’t take the time for a bit or relatively painless dental hygiene. Your teeth are always right out in front, you can’t hide your smile and it is one of the most easily adaptable features to perfect. I’m not even going to belabor any fitness tips here…it’s just a dental visit! Don’t be like the 1-800-Dentist chick..she’s annoying. And currently dating a guy who lives in an ice cream truck and sells key chains. Do you want her life. NO! She could have had the cute dentist who liked to take walks on the beach. Who knows, it could happen.

http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/3-surprising-ways-to-keep-your-teeth-healthy/article19045.html

Regrettably, like everything else on your body, life zaps it’s wear and tear on teeth. By the time a woman reaches forty years old her two upper teeth can erode to as much as two millimeters shorter than when she was twenty. The result is a seemingly toothless smile. This deterioration will cause your lips to sag inward creating that thin looking smile, that we try to fight with collagen injections. With some minor bonding or natural tooth colored veneers it is easily fixable. The procedure isn’t painful but it does require a couple of visits to your dentist.  They will put in a set of temporaries, not gonna lie, they feel weird in your mouth, until your permanents can be made and attached. Then you are good to go, the results are stupendous.

Teeth are constantly shifting, even if you had braces as a pre-teen, all those dedicated nights of battling headgear don’t come with a lifetime guarantee. Bet your ortho never said a word to your mom. Truth be told, less than 10% of the population has the same smile at fifty as we did at twenty. When teeth move inward they give less support to your cheeks and lips, which gives an already hollowing face an extremely gaunt appearance. Not the extreme we’re looking for at this point in our lives. Your teeth can be realigned or even aligned (if you never had braces as a child, like me) with Invisalign. Invisalign are those clear plastic molds that gradually move your teeth into place. I just completed my Invisalign plan in the last two years and it worked! It’s subtle and effective. I am here to tell you though, as much as they tout the fact that you can’t see them – You Can! But what I liked about the program, as opposed to the metal head version, is you can take the molds in and out. If you don’t want to wear them during the day, or to an important meeting you don’t have to. Just slip them in while you’re sitting at your desk or overnight. It may take a few months longer to adjust your smile, but hey, if you’ve waited this long to fix your dents, what’s another couple of months. The other truth you have to know, that your ortho might not reveal, is you will always have to wear a retainer to keep your teeth in place. Like I said teeth always shift. But again, my solution, I wear the Invisalign’s overnight or daily for the hour I’m exercising-always multi-tasking!

Your teeth come with protective enamel that will begin to thin over the years making them appear less white and more prone to stains. They will start to look grey instead of the optimistic pearly white. Bleaching is the answer. Luckily, there are loads of toothpastes nowadays that comes with bleaching agents in them. Buy a few and find the one that works best for you. They are all minty fresh, you can’t go wrong. You can also purchase OTC whitening strips for a 10% whiter smile. For faster and more effective results many dentists offer custom-made trays for home use or in-office bleaching appointments that will get your teeth 9 to 10 shades lighter and brighter.

If you have been religious about your appointments with the hygienist and consistent with bleaching, but you still feel like your smile doesn’t quite look the way it did “a few years ago,” there is the nifty dental mini lift. It’s not a face lift, so there are no incisions or surgery downtime, but it can give your face a youthful blast. Basically, your cosmetic dentist adds some bulk to the front surfaces of the top side teeth with bonding material, crowns or veneers. The result widens your smile and fills in where your face tends to hollow with age. It softens the nasal labial lines, also known as the parenthesis lines, oh yeah…chill on the painful restylane injections, and perks up the midsection of your face. Depending on how much is built up at the teeth on the outer corners of your lips it can also soften the lipstick lines and turn the corners of your mouth up. Ahh, a permanent happy face.

Who knew! A visit to your dentist can make your skin look tighter, your lips fuller, and your cheeks perkier.  Bottom line, by simply upgrading your smile you can erase 10 years off your face.