A Brighter Smile for a Younger Look: PreRetirementLife

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A Brighter Smile for a Younger Look

Cosmetic dentistry technology has improved dramatically in the past decade.

No matter what else you’ve done to look and feel younger, a discolored and dingy smile can add years to your appearance. Professional-grade whitening services, available either at storefront franchises or at your dentist’s office, are a quick fix that can lighten up your smile for around $500, but the effect isn’t permanent, and it can only go so far toward reversing decades of coffee drinking, smoking, or prescription drug interactions that can permanently stain teeth.

Today people with a significant beauty budget are taking a bigger step by refashioning their smiles with porcelain veneers. Unlike the crowns of our parents’ generation, which were glued onto posts created by filing away most of the tooth, a veneer sits on top of the tooth and can be permanently applied with minimal invasive dentistry. It’s a far less grueling experience.

First-generation veneers suffered from being thick and non-translucent. The result was an unnatural “chiclet” effect that could look blindingly white but not particularly natural. Translucent porcelain, which is today’s new standard, behaves more like tooth enamel. Light penetrates it and then reflects back out, and the resulting look is far more natural.

Veneers can be used simply to create a whiter smile or to correct a crooked or uneven appearance. To apply them (it usually takes a consultation plus two visits), the dentist slightly reduces the thickness of the tooth under local anesthesia and then etches the surface with chemicals to make a grippable surface for the veneer’s adhesive. The end result is strong and stain-resistant and, if done correctly, it should feel entirely natural after a short period of adjustment. Veneers will last up to 15 years if maintained properly.

But be sure to have your credit card handy. Veneers can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 per tooth, so as you stand in front of your mirror and count the teeth in your visible smile, you may find that this is a huge investment in looking better. Still, as anyone who ever watched “Extreme Makeover” remembers, a refurbished smile can have an amazingly transformative effect on its happy recipient.

Staying Young Secret of the Week

> March 14, 2008