Your teeth aren’t getting any younger and it probably shows. Even if you once had a grin worth showing off, decades of coffee drinking, grinding teeth from stress and “forgetting” to floss can take a toll on your teeth. Luckily, these fixes can help reverse age-related damage so your smile looks great again.
- Get on the schedule - Getting back to basics, you should be brushing your teeth twice a day using a toothpaste with fluoride and flossing at least once a day as well. And don’t forget to schedule an appointment with your dentist every six months.
- Protect your gums - Cosmetic dentist Dr. Marc Lowenberg warns that gingivitis, caused by plaque buildup, inflames the gums. You need those to be in good shape, so make sure you’re brushing the gum line, where plaque likes to linger.
- Slow the grind - Lots of people grind their teeth and doing it habitually can wear teeth down, which can lead to those dreaded root canals. Your dentist can fit you with a night guard to protect teeth, but it’s going to cost you between $300 and $1,000. A less expensive option is an over-the-counter guard you can get at the drugstore and while it may not be as good as the one from the dentist, Dr. Lowenberg says “it’s better than nothing.”
- Whiten up - Coffee, tea, sodas, red wine and smoking are just some of the things that can stain teeth and that’s where whitening can help. To undo that damage, there are products you can try at home and dentists have more powerful options available in their offices. Cosmetic dentist Dr. Michael Apa recommends patients have a professional cleaning and in-house whitening treatment done back-to-back every six months and then use at-home kits to maintain results.
- Embrace braces - If you never had them growing up or your teeth have shifted, you may find yourself in need of braces as a grown-up. It’s tempting to try invisible aligners, like Invisalign, but you have to wear those for 22 hours a day, according to Dr. Apa. Another alternative to having a mouth full of metal is lingual braces, which are brackets on the backs of your teeth. But whatever option you choose, make sure you get them from a professional who can track your progress and help you get the smile you want.
Source: Men's Health