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Your teeth
don’t have to show your age.
By
George Druttman
We can’t stop ageing – but we can make the best of
what we already have. Looking after your skin and
general appearance is one step. But what about your
teeth? They are a revealing sign of ageing – yet
surprising things can be done today to reverse this
process, says Dr. George Druttman, of Cap600 London
City Dental www.cap600.com
Staying young-looking
Teeth are one of the first features that people look
at. Our teeth deteriorate over the years, gradually
taking on more and more imperfections that betray
our age – or make us look even older than we really
are. In Western society, where one in six people
will soon be over 65, everybody wants to stay as
young-looking as possible.
So how can a 50-year old stay young-looking? Well,
maybe she has fortunate genes, looks after her skin
regularly (often in addition to great genes) and has
had excellent cosmetic facial surgery. To look at
her, you wouldn’t be able to guess her true age –
until she starts smiling. Then her mouth gives the
game away. How? Because of the state of her teeth.
Signs of ageing – your teeth
So how do your teeth betray your age? Their colour
changes over time, losing brightness and luminosity,
and becoming darker. Dental wear will shorten teeth,
making them look ‘stubby’. Years of food, nicotine
and fluid stains can also stain teeth permanently.
Tooth shape: The natural smile line is a gentle
convex. But extensive wear on our front teeth can
change this to a straight or even concave line
(reversed curve). Tooth grinding (prompted by
stress), accelerates this dental erosion. Chipped
tooth edges are another sign, creating an unbalanced
and disharmonious look.
Tooth surface: The fine ridges on young teeth get
smoothed away as we get older. While in early
adulthood such smoothing can produce attractive
teeth that reflect light more uniformly, too much
smoothing will show age.
Tooth crack lines: Over time, micro-fractures can
appear on the enamel surface. While perhaps
superficial, they can show up as little crack lines,
which will downgrade the attractiveness of teeth.
Filled front teeth: White fillings in front teeth
need to be regularly replaced or they change colour
and start to look obvious. They may even show dark
lines between the edge of the filling and the
natural tooth.
Smile colour: White reflects light and dark absorbs
it. A mouth with silver-mercury (amalgam) fillings
in many of the teeth will present an overall dull
grey colour that absorbs light and therefore looks
dark. It’s another sign of ageing.Signs of ageing – your lips
Over time the lips lose muscle tone and become
thinner and narrower. The top lip can sag, covering
more of the upper teeth. The lower lip may also
drop, showing more of the lower teeth.
If you had fairly thin lips when young, then they
will become even more so. Also thin vertical lines
appear in the lips, which are accentuated and
hastened by smoking. Crease lines can also appear at
the corners of the lips, often with a more
significant, deeper crease line, angled downward,
which can make you look permanently unhappy.
What can you do restore youthful looks?
Your smile is the key to your facial appearance. So
you need to do something about any old, worn,
chipped and discoloured teeth you have and remove
these obvious clues to ageing. The essence in good
cosmetic/ aesthetic dentistry is to combine modern
techniques with artistic flair - so that nobody can
guess what’s been done.
Ways of improving your teeth
Re-contouring: A little bleaching whitens the teeth
and slight reshaping restores the edges of the teeth
to what they were in youth.
Replacing fillings: Using modern materials for the
front and most prominent teeth can cause the dental
restoration work to blend in with the general colour
of the tooth.
Bonding: A synthetic material that looks like
natural tooth enamel is bonded to the enamel tooth
surface. Because it can be shaped and polished, this
material can alter the colour, texture, size, shape
and even, to an extent, the position of the teeth.
The treatment can be applied to the eight to twelve
upper front teeth. It lasts from three to six years.
Veneering: A technique similar to bonding – only
more permanent. A thin, hard porcelain veneer is
individually made for each tooth to the correct
colour, size and shape. Porcelain is as durable as
the original tooth enamel so the restored tooth will
last for decades rather than years. Veneering is
often done on front incisor teeth that have been
damaged.
Improving your lips
Thin lips can be treated by using fillers to
accentuate the lip line (vermillion border) between
the red part of the lips and the normal skin. These
fillers are, for example, bovine collagen, or
natural hyaluronic acid (Restylane). The effect
lasts up to twelve months. The substance of the lip
can also be increased by injecting Restylane or even
fat from another part of the body into the lip
itself. The result, of course, depends on how much
and where it is placed.
So how can your smile make you look younger?
Look in the mirror for a few minutes. Decide what
parts of your face, and particularly your smile, you
would like to rejuvenate using the techniques
mentioned above. Then consult with a cosmetic dental
surgeon, who can show you an accurate simulation of
how treatment would look on your face. It is
advisable to do this before going ahead with any
cosmetic surgery on your face.
Most cosmetic medical surgeons are still not
orientated or even knowledgeable enough about what
cosmetic dentists are able to achieve with teeth. A
few short dental treatments can take years off your
looks, helping you evaluate whether other surgery is
necessary.
Dr. George Druttman, Cap600 London City Dental
www.cap600.com
About the author:
Dr George Druttman is an experienced Cosmetic
Dentist running a specialized dental practice Cap600
London City Dental in the UK. His web site is
www.cap600.com
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Effect of dentistry on your age