Your teeth don’t have to show your age by Dr George Druttman

Your teeth don’t have to show your age

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.

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BIO:

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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