A big question these days seems to be “what can I do to improve my smile?” You are a young, retired professional who is active, energetic and healthy. Yet your smile doesn’t appear as healthy as the rest of your lifestyle. Perhaps you notice wrinkling around the corners of the mouth, thinning lips, chipped, ragged, crooked and discolored teeth. These are all common complaints associated with an aging smile. But cheer up, it can all be fixed!

Dentistry has seen a number of miraculous advancements within the past few years. Dentists with the proper equipment and advanced training in these new techniques are now able to restore a healthy smile.

Veneers are probably the best way to re-establish a healthy smile. Many clients choose veneers because they’re a fast, permanent solution to a multitude of problems. And of course they look amazing! With veneers, dentists can correct discolored, crooked, chipped and worn teeth. They can build the teeth back up to eliminate wrinkling around the mouth and thinning of the lips. Veneers can even prevent future problems that are associated with poor bites, including headaches, “TMJ”, and facial pain. The best thing about veneers is that they can be extremely conservative to your natural tooth structure.  You do not have to have your tooth ground completely down like a conventional crown.  Veneers are roughly half the thickness of a dime yet are extremely strong and can correct the problems you are unhappy with. They are designed to last a lifetime and the color does not change. So having a healthy smile with veneers is truly a life changing experience.

Whitening is ideal if you have great teeth but are just unhappy with the color.  In-office whiting is the fastest road to a whiter, cleaner looking smile. It usually takes only about an hour or so for your teeth to become up to 8 shades brighter. Some dentists will even go the extra mile and throw in custom trays and whitening gel so you can touch up your gorgeous smile at home whenever you notice any discolorations. 

A healthy smile is not just what you can see; gum disease, by some estimates, is as high as 95% in retired individual age groups. That is staggering!  And gum disease has recently been linked to diabetes, stroke, Alzheimer’s, and may even surpass high cholesterol as the leader in heart disease. You can’t afford to have this in your mouth affecting the health of your bone, gum tissue and other organ systems. 

Laser energy is the latest in advancement in the fight to manage gum disease.  With a tiny laser fiber, dentists or hygienist with advanced training, can direct laser energy to eliminate the infections and provide a medium to which the body can heal. This form of therapy surpasses any other form of non-surgical treatment. Best of all it is usually painless. Please remember though that gum disease is never truly cured, only managed. So even though you may have been treated in the past, a thorough check-up once a year is very important.