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Looking Good in laterlife is a regular column
reporting on the latest tips on beauty products and
processes for the more mature face and body.
Anyone who has looked after her (or his) appearance
over the years has the edge in later life compared to
ravers who burned all their candles at both
ends.
 A vast industry is out there
to help with all and every beauty concern. In this
column every month laterlife.com will report
on ideas and products, old and new. All with the
focus on maturity of course.
Click here to view previous editions of Looking Good in laterlife
LOOKING GOOD IN
LATERLIFE
Say cheese and smile
Bill Kellner-Read tells the explains the facts about teeth
whiteners
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Happiness is
your dentist telling you it won't hurt and then having him
catch his hand in the drill. Johnny Carson
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People seldom notice old clothes if you wear a big smile.
Lee Mildon
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Smile - sunshine is good for your teeth.
Author Unknown
I just had to start with a few smile oneliners. The smile is
so important and yet over the years I have seen many people
cover their mouths for fear that their crooked, brown,
stained, decayed teeth might be seen.
Let’s face it, a smile can put the world to rights, disarm
the angry and placate the fractious child. So why not have
what you want, look as you would like to look and smile at
everyone. After all smiling is easier than frowning, it
takes less muscle activity!
Just when we felt that dentistry was going places with tooth
whitening, the House of Lords held that tooth-bleaching
products fall within the terms of the cosmetic products
(Safety) Regulations 1996. These make it illegal to supply
tooth-bleaching products that contain or release more than
0.1% hydrogen peroxide. So it is difficult for the dentist
to supply the need for whiter teeth, as most products on the
market are stronger than the 0.1%.
What do we do now?
Well of course we could go back to all
porcelain crowns, the Hollywood smile that we have come to
know and try to emulate. Crowns are great and certainly a
good option for highly-filled front teeth with broken or
crooked smiles. But they do require injections and hefty
tooth removal. Still a great cosmetic choice, and one to be
considered. Or we could go for bonding of white-filling
material onto the outer surfaces of the teeth, changing the
appearance and colour of the teeth.
Veneers have been a good choice for a while now. These are
like false fingernails and are literally stuck onto the
teeth. Historically, the teeth have required some
preparation and therefore an injection of local anaesthetic,
which for some reason people don’t really want! The stars
who don’t have crowns have veneers.
Progress is progress and the latest off the block are
Lumineers, their fact sheet quotes and claims the following:
“LUMINEERSTM BY CERINATE® is the newest breakthrough in
cosmetic dentistry. Developed by Den-Mat Corporation,
Lumineers is ultra-thin, permanent smile shapers that
transform worn, misshapen, broken, and discoloured teeth
into the most naturally, beautiful smile possible! Lumineers
can only be made from Cerinate Porcelain.”
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No shots or anesthetic required – procedure is entirely
pain-free
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Little to no reduction of tooth structure - you keep your
natural teeth intact! Unlike veneer procedures that require
grinding, cutting and removal of tooth structure
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Patented Cerinate porcelain – only from Den-Mat
Corporation
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No post-operative sensitivity
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Only two visits necessary
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Extremely natural-looking
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No temporaries required
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Restores and strengthen teeth
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Extraordinarily strong. Clinically proven to last up to 16
years
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A viable alternative to braces in many cases
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Can be placed over crowns and rejuvenate old dental bridge
work
Sounds a pretty good option for someone looking to change
and enhance their smile with none of the pain involved with
crown preparation. The only problem is the cost which is
between £450 - £1,000 per tooth.
I have spoken recently with a UK-based company, Dentalserve
who are making a product called “Thineers” with similar
characteristics, a fraction thicker but with a slightly
lower price tag. With their newer ceramic technique, they
claim that this product is an even stronger option and with
the slightly thicker structure allows for better masking of
any stains within the tooth.
It looks as though this is the way to go at the moment but
proceed with caution. If you read my last article, you will
be aware that a heavy bite can cause head, neck and back
pain of dental origin. A heavy bite may also destroy much of
the cosmetics placed at the front of the mouth.
Your bite can render you unacceptable for this treatment.
Smile at your dentist, no one else does, perhaps you’ll get
a discount!
Any questions look me up on
www.authordentist.com and mail
me.
British Dental Health Foundation:
www.dentalhealth.org.uk
British Dental Association:
www.bda.org
British Academy of Cosmetic Dentists:
www.bacd.com
If in any doubt about any of
the information covered in health related articles and it's
relevance for you, consult your GP.
View previous editions of Looking Good in laterlife
laterlife interest
The above article is part of the features section of laterlife.com
called
laterlife interest.
laterlife interest
contains a variety of articles of interest for visitors to
laterlife.com written by a number of experienced and new
journalists.
It includes both one off articles and also associated
regular columns of a more specialist nature such as
Healthwise,
Talkback,
Gardener's Diary,
and a beauty section called
Looking good
in later life.
There's also
'It could
be you' by Maggi Stamp laterlife's counsellor on human
relationships.
Also don't forget to take a look at our regular IT
question and answer section called
YoucandoIT
by IT trainer and author Jackie Sherman.
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