Aging with Your Smile: How Do Your Teeth Change Over Time?

The effects of aging go far beyond gray hairs and wrinkles. What many people don’t realize is that with time, their smiles can change as well. If you drink coffee every morning, you may notice your teeth become increasingly more discolored, and if you grind your teeth or have gum disease, you may have experienced tooth loss and dental damage. Although these changes can deeply affect your confidence, know that it is possible to restore your smile’s glow. Read below to learn more about cosmetic and restorative dentistry and how these treatments can help you.

How Teeth Change with Time

Your smile never stays the same, although it may seem that way. From the moment you’re born to when you’re a senior, your teeth will shift, discolor, and become impacted by systemic health conditions that you’re experiencing, altering your grin with time.

Between the ages of six and eight years old, your permanent teeth will erupt. These have stronger enamel, a yellow-ish color, and are more rounded than your baby teeth, allowing you to breeze through basic daily tasks like eating and speaking without causing excessive wear and tear on them.

With good dental hygiene and routine checkups and cleanings, you can drastically reduce your risk of experiencing common oral health problems like cavities and gum disease, although it’s not always possible to prevent them altogether. Additionally, your smile will be affected by the different foods and beverages you eat, as well as your habits. For example, drinking red wine every evening will likely discolor them with time, and biting on your nails may cause them to become worn.

Unfortunately, all of these factors (habits, what you eat, overall health, and dental hygiene routine) come together to affect the big picture of your smile when you’re older, causing imperfections that you may not feel proud to show off.

Breathing New Life into Your Smile

Whether you suffer from tooth loss or cosmetic imperfections that sink your confidence, dentists often have the answer. They offer cosmetic and restorative services that are designed to enhance both the look and function of your grin by filling gaps and addressing discoloration, bite misalignment, and dental damage. Some of the treatments that you may be able to benefit from include:

• Veneers: Veneers are thin sheaths that conceal slight misalignment, dental damage, and severe staining.
• Teeth Whitening: Professional teeth whitening has the ability to brighten dulled smiles by up to eight shades.
• Dental Implants: Dental implants are a leading-edge solution capable of replacing the entire structure of missing teeth, including the roots.
• Dental Bridges & Dentures: Dentures and bridges have the ability to restore the biting surface of several or all missing teeth.
• Dental Bonding: Bonding is a fast, cost-effective way to address minor dental damage like chips.

The best way to learn how you can rejuvenate your aged smile is to schedule a consultation with a cosmetic dentist in Denton. Based on your smile goals and oral and overall health history, they can guide you towards what treatments would be best for you.

About the Author

Dr. Jonathan Aguilar is a compassionate dentist who is committed to helping his patients thrive. He offers a wide range of cosmetic and restorative dental treatments to beautify and preserve the health of natural smiles, allowing his patients to always put their best foot forward. For questions or to schedule a consultation for yourself or a family member, visit Aguilar Family Dentistry’s website or call 940-353-6444.