Your skin is not the only feature to show your age—your smile can give you away too. As you get older, the enamel on your teeth wears away, which can result in chips, yellowing, and stains. Your gums naturally start to recede as well. Around age thirty-five, the elastic tissues around your mouth begin to break down, and the fat that gives volume and plumpness slowly disappears, leading to thinner, flatter lips. You may also notice that the corners of your mouth are starting to droop, and lip lines have begun to form (especially in smokers). Your dentist and dermatologist have a few tricks up their sleeves if you’d like to pursue professional treatments, but inexpensive lifestyle changes and products can also address many of these telltale signs.
A 2010 study in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery found that the bones in the jaw also lose volume as you age; the researchers concluded that the combination of soft tissue changes and having less bony support causes cheeks to appear hollow and skin to sag, and this can worsen wrinkles. A recent trend to combat those signs of aging is a procedure often called a smile lift or dental face-lift. It usually involves using veneers, crowns, or other orthodontic devices to change the shape of your teeth, potentially lifting your lips, broadening your smile, and reducing fine lines. If your dentist doesn’t have experience with this kind of anti-aging dentistry, check with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry to find a cosmetic dentist in your area. It can be expensive, since each procedure is highly personalized (a few veneers might cost a few hundred dollars, for example, but a whole mouthful of veneers plus orthodontic devices and other procedures can run into the five-figure range), but the results can be dramatic.
If you’re looking for less costly ways to restore your smile, you might also try an injectable filler from your dermatologist. Unlike Botox, which paralyzes muscles to keep them from creating wrinkles, these fillers—usually hyaluronic acid (
1), collagen, or the body’s own fat—fill in wrinkles and deeper folds, help restore loss of volume, and soften the contours of the face (11). Cost varies according to the filler you choose, but the average cost was around $500 in 2008, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Although soft tissue fillers are generally considered safe, potential side effects include allergic reaction or lumps under the skin.
Topical lip plumpers (typically glosses) also offer temporary fullness to thinning lips, usually by irritating sensitive lip skin with stimulants such as mint, pepper, and menthol, and relying on moisturizers to hydrate lips and lend volume. Blue-based red and berry shades of lip color help yellowed teeth appear whiter, but keep it bright, since dark color calls attention to thinning lips. To keep color from migrating, trace lips with liner in the same shade as your lips.
Studies show that snacking on dairy foods, especially cheese, can preserve and even rebuild enamel. But limit sugary and acidic foods and drinks such as soda, fruit juices, coffee, and wine. When you do consume them, brush your teeth or rinse your mouth with water to wash away damaging acids and prevent enamel-eroding plaque and stains from forming.
Add a fluoride rinse after brushing to help strengthen enamel, use a soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste twice a day, and floss at least once daily. Overly vigorous brushing can cause gums to recede faster, so go easy, especially near your gum line. Like a little high-tech help? Some electric toothbrushes have a two-minute timer and a pressure-sensitive switch that shuts off if you’re brushing too hard.
To combat the yellowing and stains that come with age, turn to tooth-whitening products. Whitening toothpastes use mild abrasives or chemicals to remove surface stains. To get at deeper stains, you’ll need a bleaching treatment that uses carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide. Inexpensive at-home versions with trays or strips require repeated applications and last about six months. Your dentist can make custom-fit trays for home use or perform an in-office treatment that takes an hour and lasts a year. The American Dental Association notes that teeth that have darkened to a brown or grayish color won’t respond as well to bleaching treatments; if that’s the case for you, talk to your dentist about porcelain veneers or dental bonding, which not only address discoloration but fix chips and cracks as well.