THE Oscar Fashion Accessory? A Beautiful Smile

SO it’s all over, the highlight of the movie calendar, this morning I could say my topic of debate would be the merits of the films that won, or didn’t win…but that would be a lie.  Nope, like the rest of the world, the topic of conversation will be OMG did you see what he/she  was wearing? (I add ‘he’ for political correctness but we know it is not the men that will be picked apart in minute detail)

The one thing (unless perhaps they are from the UK ha!ha!) that will not be discussed is their smile as that is taken as a given.  They will be all white, all gleaming, all  perfect…all HOLLYWOOD

Research has shown that we perceive people with fabulous smiles as more attractive, intelligent, successful, wealthy than those that have yellow crooked teeth.  This is a fact and whether we like it or not, in the world we live first impressions count and a high wattage smile makes a huge impression

So if you do not like your smile, my advice is do something about it.  I recently completed orthodontic treatment (Braces) for a lady of 76years.  Her comment at the end of it all? “I look great, feel great and wonder why it took me so long”

What are you waiting for…..to get in the movies?

Does Teeth Whitening Really Make Difference?

Sometimes, it is hard to believe a simple solution will really work.  This tends to be the response I get when I suggest teeth whitening.  Does it really work?  Will it REALLY make a difference?  The answer is a resounding YES…but

Below are my top tips to know if you are suitable

1.  Compare the colour of the whites of your eyes to the colour of your teeth.  Notice a difference? If your teeth are darker then this is a great treatment for you

2.If you drink lots to tea, coffee, red wine, smoke and that’s what has discoloured your teeth, then this will work for you to get rid of the evidence.

3.  If your teeth are a grey colour or you have tetracycline staining, then it is less effective so other solutions may be needed

4. If your suffer from sensitive teeth, you can still whiten BUT need to make sure you pick someone that knows what they are doing! Teeth need to be desensitised first

5. If you are over 30 you would probably benefit from whitening…don’t shoot the messenger!

Teeth Whitening is not NEEDED.  It is a choice and a fabulous treatment that works and does not damage teeth if carried out properly.  In my next post I will run through how the process works and what the options are so keep tuned

Grinding and Gnashing of Teeth

It is official, as a nation, there is more grinding and gnashing of teeth going on…the posh term for it is bruxing.  We know everyone is more stressed…the economy, the  threat of job loss, even our spouses, our teeth are bearing the brunt of it

Do any of these describe you?

• Do your jaw muscles ache in the morning?
• Do you have difficulty in eating, first thing?
• Do your teeth show premature wear? Teeth appear flatter, shorter
• Do you suffer from frequent headaches or facial pain?
• Do you suffer from repeated earaches?
• Has your  partner ever complained about you making strange grinding noises in your sleep?

If this describes you, then here are some tips to help prevent it

1. If you are a true bruxist, you cannot prevent it.  It is a reflex action, like breathing so the aim in treatment is to protect the teeth

2.The commonest treatment is an occlusal splint.

There are different designs, different names but in essence your dentist makes a custom plastic gaurd to protect your teeth.  You grind the plastic v/s your teeth so protecting them.  I prefer a hard splint, this is generally more expensive but there is more involved as the dentist uses it to create an even bite which helps stabilise things

3.Occlusal Equilibriation

This basically means adjusting your bite so the teeth meet evenly.  It may involve your dentist triming away some of the surface enamel or the opposite, adding material to change the shape of hte teeth.  often after providing veneers for patients, the  biggest thanks is finding they no longer suffer from headaches because as part of the treatment I can give them a better bite.  Either way,, the aim is to distribute the forces evenly over all your  teeth

4. Botox! We are now experimenting with using Botox to help the muscles relax.  Botox has been used for many years on medical conditions eg Cerebral Palsy where the muscles go into spasm. It does not change your appearance in any way

4 Behaviour changes…ie relax.  This is often the most difficult but stress does make the situation worse!

Happy New Year…40 and loving it?

What can I say, I was soooo mortified when I looked back and realised that I have written NOTHING for over 2 months! The worst is it doesn’t feel that long, more like 2 weeks.  Is this a sign of turning 40? (I celebrated what everyone tells me is the beginning of life in december)

It doesn’t matter that I’m told I don’t look it (thank you teeth whitening…knocks off years, so now I can pretend to be 30) but it is that I do not remember when it happened.  I do not FEEL like I have lived 40years on this earth, I feel a total sense of panic that there is so much more left to do.  Learn to play the piano, become a ballet dancer, speak french fluently, go meet father xmas in lapland….create beautiful smiles.  Yup that one I can tick off my list hee!hee!

Write and let me know what you love about being 40

Your Smile…THE Fashion Accesory

So it is finally official.  Smiles are fashionable.  Since Paris fashion week models have been told to smile, no pouting, no grimacing, no frowning…SMILE

What took the designers so so I wonder?  Is it the fear that the fabulosity of a smile might take away  from focusing on the clothes?

One thing is for sure no matter what you look like, how you feel a smile is THE accessory to flash around.  The universal language, it has both physical and emotional positive effect effects.  That’s why I LOVE what I do.  I get to share in the transformation as people’s confidence soar and often they tell me that the happy person inside now has a chance to come out.

So today, a typical, dreary cold wet british morning, give a stranger one of your smiles.  It might be the only sunshine he sees all day!

WHITE WINE ROTS TEETH

I have been inundated by questions about an article that recently appeared in the paper that claimed that white white rots teeth.  Everyone has accepted that red wine is not good and it is especially associated with staining.  However ALL wine does have a negative impact on teeth because of their acidity.  In this particular test,researchers from Germany soaked teeth in different wines for up to 24hours.  White wines were found to cause the most loss of enamel and this confirmed that frequent consumption of white wine does lead to dental erosion

So what to do?  With all acidic food and drinks, the same principles apply

1. Don’t take excess

2. Frequency v/s quantity.  Consuming the acidic food in small quantities over a whole day for example is worse than eating everything in one go.  This same principle apples to eating sugary things because the bacteria in your mouth converts the sugar to acid

3. Rinse with a fluoride mouthwash to neutralise the effect, if none availabe even rinsing with water helps.

4. Follow with an alkaline food eg Cheese to neutralise the effect of the acid

5. DO NOT brush your teeth immediately after.  This is a common myth but the worst thing to do! The acid softens the enamel of your teeth and you would in effect be brushing away your enamel. Chew sugar free gum for 10mins instead.  This produces saliva which helps stabilise your enamel

Beauty And The Dirt

Have a read of the interview written by Jane Cunningham who is the best beautyblogger on the planet!

Don’t forget to leave your comments about the article on her site!

http://www.beautyandthedirt.com/2009/09/21/mimi-talks-to-dr-uchenna-okoye/

A Woman Of Substance

A few weeks ago I attended an inspiring awards ceremony celebrating the 30th anniversary Barbara Taylor Bradford’s debut novel, A Woman of Substance.

I remember first reading this book as a kid and being totally riveted by the story of this strong woman overcoming the odds.  A total dreamer and an introvert, I used to loose myself in books and I remember telling myself if Emma Harte could do it why not me

This award was to recognise women of today overcoming the odds and the first ever recipient was truly inspiring.  Lisa Salmon, 42, from Horsforth, Leeds, was crowned ‘A Woman of Substance 2009′ Lisa was nominated by her mother, Sheila Salmon, and her friend, Gail Robinson, who described her as an extraordinary human being. Lisa  has had to deal with a series of tragedies — one of which resulted in her losing her sight and the other the death of her son at just two days old. Since then, she has managed to triumph over adversity, going on to marry and have two children, and is now juggling a busy family life with working as a writer with the support of her husband Mark and in her spare time helps to support and campaign for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance service that saved her life.

Lisa when asked about the award said “I was amazed I won. I don’t feel like I’m that special. I’ve just got on with life. I do feel sometimes that I’m the luckiest unluckiest person alive. I’m over the moon to be seen as a real woman of substance. I just can’t believe it.”

During her acceptance speech I was struck by a comment she made…”bad things happen to good people , there’s just no point in moaning, it just doesn’t serve any purpose, I just got on with it.”

At that point the lady I was standing next to turned to me and said, “Well that put’s my bad day into perspective!”

Congratulations Lisa, Emma Harte would be proud of you!

Who knew George could look better!

Years ago ER was my “must see TV”. George Clooney is back on the small screen looking better than before, why? His teeth of course!

He has had a smile makeover and boy has it made a difference, he definitely looks 10 years younger

As we get older our teeth get darker and shorter as they do their work chomping on all that lovely food.  Those short yellow teeth have gone and with it the years, also a little tweaking to remove the excess gum and he looks, younger, fresher and even more gorgeous!

That’s why your smile is THE best accessory

Dentistry Vegas Style!

I cannot believe it has been over a month since I wrote anything on the blog, totally shocking!  I am trying to decide if the time has sped by so fast because I am having such a great time or if it is just because I am getting older and I don’t know what it is about time, but the older you get the faster time seems to speed by!

Anyway in my defence I have been in the states, for almost three weeks, first for a conference and then for a course.  Yup the Yanks are still the leaders when it comes to cosmetic dentisty which is why I invest so much time and energy in the many trips I take there to learn all the new techniques to make sure our guests do absolutely benefit from the best.

I was in Vegas for the International Federation of Esthetic Dentistry.  It is a conference held every 2 years where all the top cosmetic dentists from over the world come together to share experiences and learn.  It is really intense, early morning 7am starts.  I was moaning one day and had to shut up after talking to a Korean dentist who had travelled twice the distance i did, was more jetlagged than I and was struggling to understand all that was going on because his English wasn’t that great.  It reminded me that excellence was a journey and he said he felt just being there was sufficient..nothing more to be said!