How your dentist can reverse the signs of ageing with oral ‘tweakments’
The population across the globe is maturing, so it is no wonder that the demand for products and procedures to fight the signs of ageing has boomed in recent years. The Aesthetic Medicine magazine reports that the global anti-ageing market is forecast to be worth £306 billion by 2030, with the average person set to spend around £1,515 on beauty treatments in 2021 alone!
The pandemic has done little to dampen this trend. In fact, it has had the reverse effect. With the general population spending more time on video meetings, family facetime and looking at themselves for hours on screen, the desire to improve the vision that they see from the neck up has only increased. Pent-up demand has been brewing over the last 6 months, with people unable to seek the advice and treatments they want to reverse the signs of ageing, due to ongoing restrictions.
At the same time, we have moved on from wanting the dramatic overhauls of surgical facelifts for example and are looking to age more gracefully with discreet adjustments, delivering more natural results. We want to look like ourselves, simply better and more youthful. As a result, the appetite for non-surgical ‘tweakments’ has emerged as the latest trend.
Aside from weight loss, dental ‘tweakments’ top the list in the self-care movement. TV shows such as 10 Years Younger, Body Fixers, This Time Next Year and Embarrassing Bodies have only helped to highlight how it should be your dentist you speak to about how to shave off the years.
We have typically associated the signs of ageing with wrinkles, lines and grey hair but our teeth are a huge giveaway and such a defining facial feature. The dental industry has evolved from providing just routine checkups, extractions and fillings and now blurs the boundaries between health and beauty.
Here are just a few ways that your dentist can reverse the signs of ageing with oral tweakments, giving you a more youthful appearance without complex, intrusive procedures.
Reverse the signs of ageing with these oral tweakments
Straight, white, clean and tidy teeth can make you look 10 years younger, but often we assume that the work required to achieve these results are going to be costly and time consuming.
Our teeth will naturally show signs of ageing over the years. We are slowly chipping away at our teeth without realising through chewing and grinding. Crowding also becomes worse with age, causing our profile to appear crooked and unsightly. And of course there is the issue with yellowing, which no matter how good your oral care routine, is a natural consequence of time.
All of these issues result in our facial features looking tired, dull and lacklustre, adding years onto our appearance. So, what can we do? Here are a few suggestions:
1. Whitening
This is probably the most obvious dental tweakment of all especially since whitening products have crossed over into mass market and can be found even on supermarket shelves. Our smile is one of the first things that people notice about us and a bright, white smile makes a lasting impression. In the same way that the whites of our eyes give a vision of youthfulness, the colour of our teeth does the same.
Sadly, the effectiveness of many home whitening products is debatable since the levels of active ingredients are low in non-dentist prescribed treatments. If you have already experimented with whitening but haven’t been satisfied with the results, it’s time you visited the professionals.
Of course, you are likely to spend more on professional whitening, but you need the right tool for the job. To truly reverse the signs of ageing, you need some guarantee about the colour shade you will achieve. This is possible by using a powerful concentration of Hydrogen or Carbamide peroxide, only available through a dentist.
Whitening treatments are quick, painless and deliver age-defying results without radically altering your natural features. Find out more about teeth whitening today.
2. Composite Bonding
Many people assume that veneers are the answer for fixing problem teeth. They certainly are a popular treatment, but they can be expensive, they require filing of your natural teeth and the final result can appear unnatural. A brand new, complete set of gleaming uber-white teeth will not go unnoticed. In some cases this is the desired effect, but there is a much more simple, discreet way to make dental corrections.
Bonding can be applied to correct and adjust the shape, size and colour of your teeth, without any impact on your original tooth structure. It is a quick, effective coverup to disguise cracks and chips, giving a smooth even appearance. If you have variations in tooth size and length, the composite can be used to create a uniform, symmetrical appearance across any number of teeth you choose.
There are so many ways that composite bonding can restore a fresh, natural look to your tired teeth. It’s a quick, effective tweakment that can be performed in one visit, leaving you with beautifully sculpted teeth that defy the signs of ageing.
3. Gum Contouring
Do you feel like you show more gums than teeth when you smile? You may be surprised to know that this affects 15% of the population. A disproportionate gum to teeth ratio can make your teeth look short and affect the proportion of your lips. The combination of thin lips and short teeth give the impression of an ageing look as we would typically associate these characteristics with the older generation.
There are a number of tweakments that can be found at cosmetic dentists which can address the gummy smile issue. Gum lasering and contouring can reshape your gum line and let your teeth shine bright as the star of the show. It is also possible to use dermal fillers to reduce an overly gummy look.
Had you ever thought that your gums might be ageing you?
4. Alignment
You may feel like that alignment is a long-drawn-out, complex process. The benefits of modern invisible alignment procedures are that they slowly make minor tweaks to the position of your teeth without the need for intrusive surgical procedures.
Invisalign is one of the greatest revolutions of modern-day orthodonistry. An oddly twisted tooth or a crowded mouth can change your facial features and the appearance of your lips. A perfectly organised and positioned set of teeth can do wonders for your appearance.
Many people chose to address their ageing features from the outside in, filling lines and wrinkles and plumping up drawn areas. Whilst there are many constructive reasons to have such procedures, sometimes they can be treating the problem rather than the cause. Addressing the architecture of your teeth can put vibrancy back into your face, making your surrounding features burst back into life. Straight teeth can most definitely help to reverse the signs of ageing.
5. White Fillings
There’s no denying that a mouth full of 10+ year old metal fillings hardly gives the impression of wellness and beauty. Whilst your fillings serve a purpose in protecting your teeth from further decay, there is no reason why they need to look unsightly.
Replacing old silver fillings with white composite lifts the overall appearance of your mouth and enhances your smile. Whether you need a new filling or it’s time for a replacement, ask about white fillings. It’s a simple, straightforward tweakment that can give your teeth a new lease of life.
If you want to look 10 years younger, the best place to start is with your teeth.
We have only just touched on the surface of how your dentist can reverse the signs of ageing with non-invasive oral tweakments but there are far more options on the table to turn back the hands of time.
