Sunday Times Style
23rd April 2023
– features expert quotes from Dr. Uchenna Okoye on how ageing affects our teeth
Forget fretting about wrinkles – top dentists say that overhauling your smile is as good as a facelift. From tweakments to toothpaste, here’s the pros’ guide
Words Phoebe McDowel
The disparity between the time – and money – spent on fine lines, dry hair and damaged nails compared with crooked and coloured teeth. strikes most dentists as odd. Especially cosmetic dentists, whose job it is to make mouths look pleasingly uniform, aligned and bright. And these days the results cannot be overestimated.
Indeed, celebrity dentist Dr Uchenna Okoye equates the power of good cosmetic dentistry to a facelift. “Our teeth and jaw act as the scaffolding for our lower face, but with age, teeth loose enamel and get thinner, they shift and collapse which can affect the structure of your mouth and the skin around it, giving a sunken, sagging appearance.” But why are our teeth in constant decline? Unlike other parts of our body, teeth don’t regenerate, so you should treat them with the utmost care and looking after them isn’t just about aesthetics – your oral health is inextricable from your overall health. Just as hair health starts with the scalp, oral health begins at the gumline.
The toothpaste aisle is a great source of confusion, filled with scores of tubes, each promising to do something more impressive than its neighbour. First, don’t be seduced by the likes of coconut and charcoal. Trendy as they may be, there’s no evidence to show they whiten teeth (but they get fresh towels dirty, which is plain annoying). Also, don’t blindly choose a whitening formula. “Lots or them have abrasive particles that act like sandpaper. eroding enamel.
