What You Need to Do for Long, Healthy Teeth

Healthy teeth serve as a measure of likability and an indicator of someone’s background. Will it last as long as its extended lifespan?

When I see celebrities’ unrealistically neat, white teeth, I think they are too impersonal, but sometimes I search for procedures without realizing it. My curiosity grew even more after watching the Netflix documentary series about David Beckham’s turbulent soccer life not long ago. I am probably not the only one who finds the present, at age 48, with a wonderful smile showing off perfect teeth, more attractive than when I was a fresh-faced boy with crooked teeth. In this way, human teeth are an aesthetic area, but this is where a question arises. Can we extend the life of our teeth just by brushing, flossing, and using an interdental brush three times a day?

Just as wrinkles form as we age, the surface of our teeth ages. As the enamel covering the outside becomes thinner, its strength weakens, and as the tooth wears away, the yellowish dentin on the inside is exposed and discolored. Staining caused by coffee, tea, and smoking cannot be ignored. The molars, which tend to tilt forward, cause the lower front teeth to come in close together and overlap each other, causing the teeth to tilt, and inflammation dissolves the gum tissue, causing the gums to recede, a phenomenon known as ‘gum recession’. It is expected that the number of ‘young teeth’ has increased as much as the skin that cannot be used to determine age, but surprisingly, the indicator does not show that. The reality is that as symptoms of bruxism or clenching due to stress increase, the number of young patients visiting the dentist because their teeth are sharp and worn is gradually increasing.

The ‘sugar filling’ trend, which has been popular for several years due to irregular eating habits and excessive dieting, has increased the incidence of cavities in people in their teens and thirties. According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, among patients who visited hospitals last year for temporomandibular joint disorders, women in their 20s accounted for the most across all ages and genders. In addition to physical causes such as bruxism or malocclusion, other causes include anxiety and depression, and experts say that frequent psychological changes and female hormones that increase pain sensitivity play a role in the onset. This phenomenon, in which the bones, discs, masticatory muscles, and ligaments that make up the temporomandibular joint collide or rub, causing a ‘clicking’ or ‘clicking’ sound, not only causes malocclusion and facial asymmetry, but also causes tinnitus, headaches, shoulders and neck, etc. The pain even takes a mental toll.

With dental health at risk, shall we talk about something a little more serious? According to a 2022 WHO report, serious periodontal disease affects approximately 19% of people over 15 years of age, or more than 1 billion people, globally. It increases the prevalence of stroke, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis, and if chronic periodontal disease persists for more than 10 years, the risk of developing Alzheimer’s increases by 1.7 times. Although it is too early to judge that a definite causal relationship has been established, there are a total of three hypotheses reported to the academic world so far, explains Ha Seung-ryong, an associate professor at Dankook University School of Dentistry. First, the bacteria that cause periodontitis can penetrate directly into the brain through the bloodstream or nerves, potentially contributing to neurodegeneration. In addition, the correlation is supported by the fact that the inflammatory response caused by periodontitis increases the risk of developing brain aging, and that periodontitis acts as a risk factor for systemic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and indirectly affects the progression of cognitive impairment. And as teeth are lost due to inflammatory disease, this possibility increases. “Oral care is the simplest and most important way not to lose yourself,” says Anita Visser, a professor of dentistry at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands who collects data from dementia patients to prove the correlation. Dental anti-aging is so important, not just for maintaining good-looking teeth, but also for pursuing mental wellness.

There are two keys to extending the life of teeth. The process of inspecting and reinforcing each worn and diseased tooth improves preservation, and maintains the aesthetics of the oral cavity, represented by white, even teeth and bright red gums. The most popular treatment recently as a ‘slow-aging’ method for teeth is ‘non-ablative laminate’, which exists under various names such as ‘Xeronate’ and ‘Polynate’. The technical term for cutting off existing teeth is ‘removal’, and by minimizing this process, side effects such as nerve damage and numbness are corrected. Of course, by coating non-renewable enamel and using thick pores, the ‘overcontour’ phenomenon, which makes teeth look fat or overly large, is reduced. “Only the enamel on the contaminated surface is removed, and ultra-thin ceramic down to 0.1 mm is precisely processed to the required extent and shape to be added to the tooth without any gaps. By using ‘feldspar’, which has the most similar physical properties to natural teeth, it can be restored to strength and shape similar to the original teeth. “It’s easy if you think of it as the principle of coating a car with a glass film and putting a tempered film on a cell phone screen.” These are the words of Director Anna Lee of Minish Dental Clinic. Above all, the biggest advantage is that the treatment period is also very short as damage to the teeth is minimized. Discolored teeth or the ‘black triangle’ that appears between teeth can be improved in just one day. Responding to the question, ‘Wouldn’t durability be low because it’s too thin?’ Director Lee Anna says that precise ‘adhesive technology’ is what determines this. Regardless of the thickness of a properly attached cell phone film, it does not easily peel off unless it is forcibly scratched by hand and does not provide an opportunity for bacteria to penetrate. Ultimately, if you undergo sufficient consultation with experienced medical staff, the effects of the treatment can last up to 15 years, after which the coating film can be replaced.

If the gum bone melts and the gums recede and become unbalanced due to aging or inflammation between the teeth and periodontal tissue, the ‘Pink Minish’ procedure is also an option. A coating film with a pink tip is attached to the teeth to restore the shape of the gums and aesthetically improve the appearance of longer teeth. “It is important to repair your teeth through regular dental visits, but do anything within the ‘minimum range.’ “Once teeth are damaged, they do not regenerate on their own.” Director Lee Anna advises that rearranging the gum line symmetrically or performing excessive procedures on the teeth for perfect teeth, also known as the ‘Hollywood Smile’, actually shortens the lifespan. Recently, on TikTok, the ‘Teeth Cleaning’ hashtag video, which involves removing plaque and tartar from between teeth at home using a sharp tool, has been trending with over 600 million views, and experts say that ‘losing more than gaining’ is a threat to oral health. He warns, ‘This is more action.’ As advertised for packs that remove sebum from pores, it is repulsive, and at the same time, it feels strangely cathartic to see the process of the space between teeth becoming clean and white. However, it not only causes serious damage to the gums, but can also damage fillings, implants, coatings, etc. You can. Associate Professor Seungryong Ha advises: “Unlike plaque, which is a colony of bacteria that clumps together when the surface of the tooth is scratched, hard calcified tartar, a mixture of plaque and minerals, is difficult to remove unless you are a professional. This is especially true in areas such as the gums where the tongue touches the front teeth of the lower jaw, where tartar accumulates easily even if you brush your teeth well. “It is an untouchable area where the salivary ducts are located, so regular scaling through a dental visit is essential.”

The common opinion of the various experts we met through our coverage is that no treatment can surpass the excellence of natural teeth. There is no perfect substitute for the tooth’s own roots that disperse external shocks, the periodontal ligament that acts as a kind of cushion when chewing food, and a barrier against bacterial invasion, which is not present in artificial teeth. In the end, careful care is taken to preserve the natural teeth for as long as possible. Only then can conservative treatment to increase sustainability be possible. Fortunately, there are a variety of options we can consider beyond basic teeth brushing. The first is oral lactic acid bacteria. It creates an oral environment where beneficial bacteria dominate and prevents the growth of harmful bacteria that cause gum disease and cavities. There is a liquid type called ‘Lorange’, which can be applied to the teeth and gums like a serum, or slowly dissolved with the tongue like candy and consumed. However, if the gums bleed frequently due to periodontitis, the liquid lactic acid bacteria applied is more effective. Double-bristled toothbrushes or high-tech toothbrushes, which can clean the inside of the mouth that cannot be easily reached with a regular toothbrush, have pointed shapes and thin bristles, which are especially useful for brushing between molars and gums. Micro-current toothbrushes, which have a greater plaque removal rate than regular toothbrushes, are also steadily growing as a dark horse in oral care. The toothbrush, dental floss, and interdental brush you normally use, a double-bristled toothbrush, and even an enamel serum that regenerates tooth enamel and brightens its color. Now my pouch contains more oral care products than lipstick. If it’s this refreshing, wouldn’t it be okay to become even more addicted? (VK Russia)