Leading dentist Dr Martina Syron tells Anna
Magee about the subtle tweaks that can add sparkle to your smile and subtract
years.
“If the teeth are worn down, a thicker
crown can be placed at the side teeth to widen the smile”
If you do nothing else…
Avoid
brushing teeth after eating acidic foods. These soften tooth enamel for about
half an hour, so brushing straight after can cause acid erosion, thinning the
surface enamel.
De-age your smile – fast
Increase
sparkle with a new high-speed cleaning and polishing treatment such as
Ultrasonic, which removes surface stains, with bleaching gel then applied for
20 minutes.
Age Giveway 1 discolouration
You
know the obvious culprits for surface staining: smoking, coffee, tea, dark
drinks, red wine and spicy foods.
But
while surface stains can be removed by cleaning and polishing every three to
six months, left to build up they make teeth look yellow and dull. Plus, years
of brushing too hard can wear away the precious surface enamel – the whitest
and strongest top layer that gives teeth their brightness – and expose the
darker dentine underneath, making teeth look yellow. Drugs taken as a teenager
when teeth were developing, such as tetracycline antibiotics for acne or chest
infections, may also contribute to a grey tone in the teeth.
Solution Research shows tooth whitening could take around ten years odd perceived
age, but while laser whitening is recommended by many dentists, it can increase
sensitivity and dehydrate the teeth so they could look whiter after the
treatment but can quickly relapse. I prefer bleaching with a low-dose carbamide
peroxide, which is shown in studies as more effective long term. Custom-made
trays containing small amounts of bleach are worn at home overnight for between
two and eight weeks, depending on the starting colour (grey-coloured teeth may
take longer), and patients come in for three to five bleaching sessions at
fortnightly intervals. Matching the tooth colour to the whites of the patients’
eyes looks most natural. Going too white can leave the thin enamel at the edges
looking transparent and grey. Don’t bleach them more often than every two
years. For people with sensitive teeth, the latest methods incorporate
desensitizing agents within their bleach formula.
COST
From $780 for a course
Age Giveway 2 Worn edges and unsightly chips
Teeth
grinders – an increasing problem in female patients in their forties – can
apply 14 times the amount of pressure on their teeth at night as they do during
the day.
Over
time, that leaves grinders – or “bruxists” – with teeth that have thin, jagged
edges and shorter, worn-down front teeth. Even if you’re not a teeth grinder,
by the time you have got 40 and 50 you have eaten a lot of hard foods and bitten
down on a fork or two. This can mean tiny chips in your front teeth, creating
jagged, uneven or serrated edges.
Solution A plastic night guard will help protect your enamel – wear it
religiously! Tooth bonding can repair the damage to the teeth visible when you
smile. Using a paintbrush, dentists apply a white composite material made from
a mix of acrylic resin and tiny glass beads. It can fill gaps, straighten minor
rotations or rebuild a thinning tooth surface or round edges of jagged teeth.
Unlike veneers, bonding requires no filling of the tooth’s surface, so it’s
both pain-free and reversible. It can chip, but these are easily repaired in
the clinic. Results depend on the dentist’s skill so ask to see examples of
previous work.
COST Night
guard, from $110; tooth bonding, from $125 to $325 per tooth.
