Looking after your teeth isn’t just about aesthetics - your oral health is inextricable from your overall health. Photo / Getty Images
Looking after your teeth isn’t just about aesthetics - your oral health is inextricable from your overall health. Photo / Getty Images
Forget fretting about wrinkles — top dentists say that overhauling your teeth is as good as a facelift. From tweakments to toothpaste, here’s the pros’ guide.
The disparity between the time — and money — spent on fine lines, dry hair and damaged nails compared with crooked and coloured teeth,strikes most dentists as odd. Especially cosmetic dentists, whose job it is to make mouths look pleasingly uniform, aligned and bright. And these days the results cannot be overestimated. Indeed, the celebrity dentist Dr Uchenna Okoye equates the power of good cosmetic dentistry to a facelift. “Our teeth and jaw act as the scaffolding for our lower face, but with age, teeth lose enamel and get thinner, they shift and collapse, which can affect the structure of your mouth and the skin around it, giving a sunken, sagging appearance.” But why are our teeth in constant decline? Unlike other parts of our body, teeth don’t regenerate, so you should treat them with the utmost care. And looking after them isn’t just about aesthetics — your oral health is inextricable from your overall health. Just as hair health starts with the scalp, oral health begins at the gumline.
Trendy toothpaste? No thanks
The toothpaste aisle is a great source of confusion, filled with scores of tubes, each promising to do something more impressive than its neighbour. First, don’t be seduced by the likes of coconut and charcoal. Trendy as they may be, according to the cosmetic dentist Dr Rhona Eskander there’s no evidence to show they whiten teeth (but they get fresh towels dirty, which is plain annoying). Also, don’t blindly choose a whitening formula. “Lots of them have abrasive particles that act like sandpaper, eroding enamel,” Eskander says.
Alarmingly, the average brush time is not much more than 40 seconds. Counter the monotony by brushing in the shower — and with the Oral-B iO10 toothbrush. Loaded with seven settings, from whitening to tongue cleaning, and some snazzy AI, you can track how you brush, which bits you’re missing and when you’re pressing too hard.
Forget facelifts. Dr Reena Wadia, a periodontist (gum specialist) and the founder of the London clinic RW Perio, has seen a rise in requests for gum lifts, depending on the number of teeth and complexity). “Gums act as the frame for your overall smile design,” she says. “The procedure removes gum and bone tissue to expose more of the tooth.” So what’s the process? Under local anaesthetic, gum tissue is cut to expose the tooth roots and bone tissue and the bone and gum are reshaped as required. As grizzly as it sounds, we’re told it’s quick and paracetamol suffices.
Another tweakment is aimed at receding gums. Anything from overzealous brushing to a build-up of plaque can cause this, exposing the lower roots. Treatment at RW Perio involves gum grafts, whereby the gum is pulled over the root as much as possible and/or tissue is taken from the roof or your mouth and grafted onto the deficient areas, thickening them and improving the aesthetic while helping to prevent further recession. A specialist assessment is held before the start of both treatments.
Don’t be seduced by the likes of coconut and charcoal toothpaste. Photo / 123RF
Contour your teeth (yes, really)
Taking a “your teeth but better” approach, micro-layering involves “applying ultra-thin layers of a special micro composite material that contains porcelain particles, which reintroduces enamel lost over the years”, says Dr Brandon Nejati, co-founder of the Nejati Clinic in Belgravia. “The craftsmanship gives it its distinctive natural look.” This process is good for 18 to 80-year-olds, whether teeth have suffered as a result of grinding and acid erosion, or are simply crowded or stained. The draw is how effective yet non-invasive the treatment is. Oh, and the fact that you can walk in with one smile and leave with another. Appointment times run from two to six hours, depending on how many teeth are being treated, though Nejati advises at least six to ensure they look and function harmoniously. Newly fashioned teeth are as strong and durable as those you were born with and, pleasingly, they look like them too. Nejati says the key is to “preserve the individual characteristics of the smile, but just make it a healthier, tidier-looking version”.
… Or tailor them
Composite bonding involves shaping and moulding composite resin onto your teeth, giving them a smoother, straighter, more glossy appearance. Think of it like a gel manicure. It’s most common to get this done after orthodontic treatment such as Invisalign (the invisible smile straightener that makes metal braces look like fossils). Once your teeth are straight, you can work on, say, squaring off a snaggle tooth or lengthening the teeth either side of your front two to create an even line. This can be done in as little as two hours, but maintenance is needed.
A quick “teeth whitener” search on Amazon yields hundreds of results, yet these formulas can’t contain any more than 0.1 per cent hydrogen peroxide. Which makes Enlighten, whose whitening treatment uses 6 per cent, along with up to 16 per cent carbamide peroxide, look pretty attractive. Having developed what it calls a “deep bleaching” system that whitens teeth from the inside out, the brand guarantees shade B1, the lightest natural colouring, for 98 per cent of cases. After having moulds (or trays) made by an accredited dentist, you complete the three-week course at home using the peroxide gels.
The supermarket buy
Colgate Max White Overnight Teeth Whitening Pen. For gradual and gentle whitening, use this paint brush on dry teeth every other day for three weeks.
Top tip
Steer clear of off-the-shelf at-home trays, Eskander says: “They’re often ill-fitting, which causes the gel to leak and congregate in certain areas, giving an uneven finish.”
Turbocharge your tooth routine
Selahatin Escapist Mouthwash
Orange and cinnamon are no ordinary mouthwash ingredients, but then Selahatin is no ordinary oral-hygiene brand. The science-backed, Stockholm-based brand aims to elevate everyday tasks, of which gargling is undoubtedly one.
Made from aluminium and recyclable plant-based heads and bristles, this toothbrush offers many reasons to switch to Suri. That it delivers 33,000 vibrations a minute and comes with a UV case that kills bacteria lurking on your brush head are just two.
Waterpik Cordless Plus Water Flosser
If this high-pressure water flosser, recommended by Eskander, doesn’t convince you to floss regularly, then nothing will. It helps to eliminate plaque and prevent staining: simply fill with water and go.
Tongue cleaner
Nejati recommends a tongue scraper to reduce bacteria in the mouth — necessary, of course, if you suffer from halitosis.
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