What a difference a smile makes……
Everyone has a different reason to get up in the morning and go to work. It might be for the money, to escape the children, to relieve the boredom, or maybe because you love what you do. I am often asked why I became a dentist, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea to be honest, and the reason I love my job is because I can really change someone’s life for the better.
This doesn’t happen everyday in a big way, but most days, I can do something that makes someone’s life better, get them out of pain, make sure I don’t hurt them, give them options they
hadn’t thought of, and some days, I can give someone back their confidence.
I have a great job!!
I recently saw a lovely lady who I really enjoyed treating, it’s so nice when someone takes the time to tell me what they thought of their time here at Evolve. This is what Pat wrote to me: “Dear Carol As one of you “older” patients, I was concerned that I may be too late for being considered for treatment. I have always been self conscious about my teeth to the point that I would cover my mouth with my hand when I smiled. I needn’t have worried, you were so patient and put my mind at rest at every stage, answering all my questions and making sure I was happy with the progress.
The result has been life changing. I have so much more confidence and can not be at the front of family photographs instead of hiding at the back.
My only regret – I didn’t do it years ago!
Many thanks
Pat”
Obviously I am blowing my own trumpet here, but the real point is that is that you never underestimate the confidence a beautiful smile can give you, and you are never too old to do something about it.
Almost everyone wants to change something about themselves, longer hair, flatter tummy, bluer eyes, thinner thighs, whiter teeth. Some things are easier than others to achieve. It takes hard work to get a flatter tummy or thinner thighs unless you resort to the surgeons knife, but whiter teeth? That’s easy isn’t it? Even beauticians are doing it. Would you like whiter teeth with your bikini waxing madame? What a good idea, or is it?
Tooth whitening from our practice near Bristol is an excellent way to improve the appearance of your teeth. It doesn’t require injections, it doesn’t require drilling and you can see the results straight away. Whiter teeth are associated with looking younger, and we all want to look younger don’t we? That is unless you are under age and want to fool the bouncer on the nightclub door, at which point young girls are desperate to look older. However, assuming that you are not in this group, looking younger is quite desirable.
Just Google tooth or teeth whitening, and you will find that there are dozens of people offering it, all promising beautiful teeth. So what is the problem with non-dentally trained people carrying out tooth whitening? For a start, it’s illegal for anyone to carry out tooth whitening without the supervision of a dentist. Often the products that are used by beauticians can actually damage the teeth causing long term problems. A qualified dentist can assess you and your mouth and advise you if tooth whitening is suitable. To maintain any colour change that you achieve, you should have custom-made home trays for long term maintenance. These are not provided by beauticians.
There a few reasons why a dentist may advise you that tooth whitening is not for you. These include fillings, crowns or veneers at the front of the mouth, staining on the teeth that should be removed by a dental hygienist, poor oral hygiene, and a few medical conditions. A beautician is not qualified to diagnose any of these problems.
I would not want anyone reading this blog to think that I have a problem with beauticians, I really like my beautician and respect what she does, but she would not consider herself qualified to whiten anyone’s teeth, and I am not qualified to do a facial or waxing.
Do yourself a favour, if you want whiter teeth, have it done a dental professional. You wouldn’t call a plumber to fix your television would you? Don’t take a chance with the health of your teeth.
Why not download my free eGuide:
‘The Definitive Guide to Teeth Whitening’
In my guide I talk about:
What causes tooth discolouration
How safe is tooth whitening?
What systems are available for tooth whitening
How long does teeth whitening last?
Are there any side effetcs of teeth whitening?
Plus lots more…
Simply enter your details opposite and I’ll email you my guide right away…
Along with 2 billion other people I watched the Royal Wedding last month as Kate Middleton became Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge. It was a beautiful ceremony and she looked absolutely stunning, the Royal Family have definitely got a new star.
Her dress had been the subject of intense speculation for months, along with her flowers, her hair, her make-up. She didn’t disappoint, but the one thing that was certain, she would have a huge smile on her face and her smile is a million dollar smile. I cannot help but feel that no matter what she wore, and how her hair was, if she didn’t have her beautiful smile, it might not have had the same stunning effect.
I can only speculate how the Duchess came by her smile, and I think that it would be fair to guess that she may have worn teeth braces when she was younger, but basically she hasn’t had veneers or any other cosmetic enhancement to her teeth. She is lucky enough to have a naturally lovely smile.
At Evolve, we are keen for our patients to explore all options to improve their smile if that is what they would like to do. For some people it’s appropriate to consider veneers to improve the appearance of their teeth, however often the way forward is to consider a brace to move your healthy teeth into the right position, maybe finished with some tooth whitening. By doing this, you don’t need to cut away any of your teeth and you don’t have the ongoing cost of maintaining your veneers.
You no longer need to wear ugly metal braces and it can take as little as 6 months to get a great smile. There are invisible braces and discrete braces, a specialist orthodontist can tell you all the options available to you. I would strongly advise you to always ask your dentist about how a brace can improve your smile, they should be able to refer you to the right orthodontist.
Just remember, if you want maximum impact, you can have the right dress, the right hair, the right shoes, but make sure your smile is gorgeous to complete the picture.
Aren’t braces for just for children and teenagers? Why do adults wear braces?
The reason that most adults want to straighten their teeth is that after having braces when they were younger, their teeth are no longer straight.
Why does this happen?
We now know that teeth will want to move back to their original position over time and if not kept in place with a retainer, this is just what they will do. This can lead to crooked or overlapping teeth that do not look good when you smile or have your photo taken.
How do you stop this problem?
The answer is simple, permanent retention.
What is retention?
In 2009, Prince William was photographed with a wire stuck to the back of his teeth. The media went crazy, but all we were seeing in his mouth was some very good orthodontics. He has got a wire stuck to the back of his lower teeth and this prevents the teeth from going back to their original position. He had it fitted 10 years previously when his braces were taken off.
This is called a permanent retainer as it cannot be taking in and out.
This is the ideal way of holding teeth in place and making sure that the effort of getting straight teeth has not been wasted. Sometimes, a fixed retainer is not appropriate or the person doesn’t want something fixed in their mouth, so a removable retainer is worn at night. This is a rigid, plastic, small shield worn over the teeth. It does rely on being worn and needs to be worn regularly, these retainers do not work in the bedside drawer, however, it does mean that there is nothing fixed in your mouth.
Orthodontics can be carried out at any time, at any age but no matter what age you are, if you want your beautiful smile to last a lifetime, then wear a retainer and hold it in place.
Please call us on 01275 821765 for further details on orthodontics or download our FREE eGuide to orthodontics
I was watching a Channel 4 programme last night called “Beauty and the Beast”, which involved a person who is obsessed by beauty to spend time with a person who may have a facial disfigurement that they were either born with or as a result of an accident. The point of the programme was to highlight the an obsession with your looks is not healthy, neither is the the quick fix solution such as liposuction, a boob job or any other irreversible surgical procedure. It may be that a healthy diet, good exercise plan and a positive attitude are the solutions.
In the world of dentistry, we are often asked to create a “Hollywood Smile” with wall to wall veneers. It is common place for celebrities to get their teeth “fixed”. The people asking for this treatment are often young and have had little or not previous dental treatment in the past. They are looking for an instant fix, and want it now!
When I am advising patients what is best for them, I take into consideration all the factors that are relevant to that particular person:
how old they are
what their time frame is
what their lifestyle is
what previous treatment they have had
the current health of their mouth
what budget they have got
I also offer all appropriate options, sometimes people have assumed that they are too old for certain treatments available.
This brings me to what we call the “Natural Hollywood Smile”, and by this I mean moving the patient’s own teeth to create a beautiful smile. Any person who has largely unfilled teeth but just doesn’t like the position of them, should always consider the option of orthodontics before having them cut away to place veneers.
What is orthodontics?
It’s using various types of braces to move teeth gently to another position. Do I mean ugly metal train tracks? No I don’t!! These days there are many options available using tooth coloured braces, invisible braces or rapid braces. No one needs to know that you are wearing a brace, apart from your dentist.
Why is orthodontics a better option than veneers?
Well, it may take a bit longer than the quick fix solution, but in the long run, you will have your own teeth that will not be in a cycle of needing veneers replacing every 10 -15 years. That is better for you, better for your teeth and better for your pocket. You could finish off your new smile with some tooth whitening just to give it that final boost!
Am I against veneers? Not all all, at Evolve we place them all the time, but only for the cases when orthodontics has been considered and is not suitable, this may be because there are crowns or veneers that need to be replaced, or the teeth have large fillings in them, or the teeth are stained in such a way that straightening and whitening will not give the result that our patient is hoping for.
I heard this morning that Chris Evans is going to wear an invisible brace to straighten his teeth, so even celebrities can see the benefit of investing a bit of time to get the best result.
