Your Mouth After 50: How to Slow the Aging Process
Just like the rest of your body, once you hit the milestone age of 50, things can start to change in your mouth. Unfortunately for many of our Warren dental patients, this means that they spend more time visiting the dentist. Even in retirement, most of our dental patients don’t want to spend their time in the dentist office. So, as 50 approaches or if you’ve passed that milestone, there are things you can do to keep your mouth and teeth as healthy as possible.
Reduce Wear and Tear
There’s really not much you can do about the normal wear and tear of your teeth. Our daily activities of eating, drinking and even brushing can cause wear and tear on your teeth that, as you age, can turn into larger problems. This doesn’t necessarily have to be the case, however. You can slow down the process of wear on your teeth with just a few simple changes. First, make sure that you are brushing gently. Over brushing can damage your tooth enamel, weakening your teeth. Mindful, gentle brushing with a soft or extra-soft toothbrush will help reduce wear on your teeth. Second, change your diet. Foods high in acid, alcohol or hard foods can cause more problems for your teeth as you age. If you can, avoid foods with these traits to keep your teeth healthy.
Cut Out Tobacco
If you are a regular user of tobacco products, now is a great time to quit. You probably have already caused some damage to your teeth and gums with your tobacco use. However, not using tobacco and getting good dental treatment from your dentist can actually slow down the damage or, in the case of your gums, may even reverse the damage that tobacco has caused.
Limit Teeth Whitening Activities
Many of our patients don’t realize that as we age, the dentin inside of our teeth will naturally yellow. As this starts to happen, the tendency for many individuals is to increase their teeth whitening. It’s important to remember that whitening products are intended to remove surface stains. As you age and your teeth wear, so does the enamel. Excessive whitening, especially with at home whitening products, can damage the enamel, causing even bigger problems. If you want to keep your smile as white as possible as you age, we recommend that you take advantage of professional, in-office whitening instead of DYI whitening.
Don’t Skip Dental Appointments
The older you get, the more important it becomes to visit your dentist regularly. No matter how well you care for your teeth, you will start to have more dental issues. When you visit us on a regular basis, we can catch issues early and make treatment as minimal and non-invasive as possible. What kinds of things can we catch in your regular appointments?
- Changes caused by medications like dry mouth
- Oral cancers
- Abscesses or cysts
- Root canal issues
- Broken or damaged teeth
Catching these problems early is the key to avoiding things like major surgery for removal of oral cancer, or tooth extractions that require implants or dentures. You many need these at some point, but if we catch them early we can treat them in the mildest way possible.
I’m Looking for Senior Dental Care Near Me in Warren, MI
As you age, your mouth needs different care. The same routine from your younger years won’t have the same results after 50. Dr. Apsey and the dental team at Smile Brightly can help you find the right routine to care for your aging mouth. To make an appointment for a complete dental exam and cleaning, call us today at (586) 573-7700.