If you’re old enough to remember when Clairol introduced that slogan for their Loving Care product line, you have gotten a whole lot better. Forty years better.
Back then, if you wished to look younger, coloring your graying hair was your best option. You accepted that your face would wrinkle, your body would sag, and you’d have “false teeth” by the time you had grandchildren.
Times and attitudes have changed. In this century, we don’t take growing old lying down. We’ve discovered that good-for-you foods can be varied and delicious. We exercise regularly by walking, swimming, bicycling, or playing team sports. Many of us have indulged in a facelift or tummy tuck. We have learned the wisdom of moderation—in sugary snacks, table salt, and alcohol. We read labels and shun high fructose corn syrup and trans-fatty acids, aka trans fat. Most of us no longer smoke, if we ever did.
Dental technology has opened the door to image improvements Grandma could never have imagined. We have teeth whiteners to brighten your smile to movie star dazzle. We can fill cavities with durable composites in a range of natural shades. There are now computers that take digital impressions, make virtual models, and create a tooth restoration all in a single appointment.
We can bond unsightly gaps between your teeth with a special mixture of glass, silica, quartz and plastic tinted to match your teeth exactly.
We can transform misshapen or discolored teeth, making them look as good as new with thin and semi-transparent porcelain veneers bonded to your existing teeth for a naturally pleasing look.
Grandpa’s crooked teeth added to his looking old. High-profile celebrities like Tom Cruise, Faith Hill, Gwen Stefani and Scarlett Johansson have shown that it’s never too late to get crooked teeth straightened to string-of-pearl uniformity. Faye Dunaway got hers straightened at the age of 61. And you no longer need a celebrity’s wealth to afford it.
You can even get your gums reshaped cosmetically. If your teeth are too short—or your gums too long—your smile can be re-contoured to make it young and attractive.
Sixty-nine percent of adults aged 35 to 44 have lost a tooth to trauma, periodontal disease, decay or a failed root canal, making them candidates for the amazing advances in implant technology. The success rate of implants over the past 20 years is 95 to 97 percent.
Most important to many of you are the improvements we’ve made in patient care and comfort. No more mind-rattling drills, no more toxic odors, and—best of all—no more dreaded pain. At the rate things are improving, you may want to live another hundred years. We hope you do, live long and prosper.
