Do you want to look your best? Do you want to look younger? Or do you just think that you would like to do something nice for yourself? By far the best choice for all of these concerns is to make your teeth look better, younger, and brighter. Cosmetic medical procedures are increasing every year. They are also expensive, painful, require extensive healing time and are relatively short in their affect. I was channel surfing a while back and found the Miss America pageant. Wow those ladies have the greatest teeth! I know you are thinking he is just looking at their teeth because he is a dentist! Well yes, but evening gown or swimsuit the look would not be the same without a beautiful smile!
Now most of us are not interested in the beauty pageant smile, but crooked, discolored, misshapen teeth at any age detract from our public image. We want teeth that look great for who we are. Dental care is not only reasonable in cost but when you consider how long the result lasts, the costs are minor.
If your teeth are crooked twisted and uneven then first consider orthodontic correction (braces). “No now wait a minute I am 55 years old and braces are for kids.” None of that statement is true! In fact most of my referrals to our Orthodontist are for adult care. One of the main reasons for this is patients’ concern about their front teeth wearing down. Ground shorter, on the upper or lower front teeth, the result can be one long and one short looking tooth next to each other, or flat ground off lower front teeth, or badly chipping and broken edges on their front teeth. The best treatment for most of these conditions is NOT PORCELAIN VENEERS! DO NOT GO GET YOUR TEETH CAPPED! These treatments may become a part of the entire treatment picture in a few cases, but many many cases can be treated by repositioning the teeth into a correct balanced non destructive esthetically pleasing bite; smoothing and contouring the edges, and bleaching them to a wonderfully brighter color. This will give you a lifetime of great looking teeth without any further treatment.
Some patients will require additional care. Orthodontics and bleaching may not be the answer for everyone. Some may need to cover their teeth due to a history of visible or large fillings, crowns and or root canal darkened teeth. Where possible choose the procedure that reduces the least amount of your tooth to get the desired result. With these parameters, Porcelain Veneers are an excellent choice and if the teeth are too broken down All Porcelain Crowns may be needed. These additional procedures can add considerable additional cost to the process. But remember it is not the first choice but rather a choice in the process.
Is all of this care expensive? Well yes but let us not forget the original point:
• Predictability-medical procedures are not-dental procedures are absolutely!
• Pain-medical procedures are painful and the recovery is lengthy-dental procedures are painless relatively quick and require minimal to no recovery!
• Longevity-you can have a face lift or eye procedure or tummy tuck or liposuction and it can all return within a couple of years-dental care like orthodontics and bleaching are for a lifetime and Porcelain restorations will last for decades or more.
• Bang for your Buck-is anyone really going to notice your medical procedure besides you and close friends and family- You meet the entire public every day face first- everyone notices your teeth and smile!
I have been in dental practice now for 35 years and I have been fortunate to grow older with a large number of my patient friends. I do not run a “Cosmetic” practice (no such specialty by the way). I now notice more people my age (60) and see very few 50 to 70+ year olds that would not benefit from a comprehensive approach esthetics. After all, who wants their teeth to look worn, stained, discolored, crooked and old?! Change is so easy. Just buy some over the counter bleach kits to start. If that doesn’t work talk to your dentist about custom fitted tray based bleaching systems. The quick in office highly advertised bleaching gimmicks do not work and can cause hypersensitivity (I know because we have been there tried that). The good tray based systems take longer, 2 to 6 weeks or longer, but they work. This process does not harm your teeth gums or bone. Everyone over 50 should do this!
If you need more than bleaching-get it done! You have a lifetime of smiles left to give- brighten someone else’s day with a great smile!
