People make up their minds about a smile in about 200 milliseconds. That is not just a figure of speech; research from Princeton University found that first impressions form within the first fraction of a second of seeing someone’s face. By the time a handshake is finished, the assessment is already locked in.
You look in the mirror and something is off. Maybe it is the color. Maybe it is a chip you have stopped noticing because you have gotten used to angling your smile in photos. Maybe you just feel older than you are, and your teeth are part of why. If any of that sounds familiar, you are not vain. You are paying attention.
The harder question is what to actually do about it. That is where most people get stuck, and it is the most common conversation we have with patients at our practice. Let’s get specific.
Your teeth in your 60s are not the same teeth you had at 30. That sounds obvious, but most people are surprised by just how much has changed when they finally sit down for a full exam. Not because anything went wrong. Just because time does what it does.
