The ‘Love Island’ effect – the search for the perfect smile

How far do people go in the desire for perfect looking teeth?

Whether you watch the TV programme or not, it is very difficult to escape it. Whether on the news or social media, the effects of Love Island, particularly on the younger generation can easily be seen.

One of these is that younger people are starting to pay more attention to how attractive their smile is.

Perhaps this has always been the case, but with apps such as Instagram now allowing people to show theirs off, the pressure is possibly that much greater.

There is nothing wrong with a fantastic looking smile of course. Many patients of the Clock Tower Dental Clinic have told us how much better they feel about themselves after treatments such as teeth whitening. Whilst we are always happy to encourage patients to have great looking teeth, there is also practical guidance that come with it.

Considered improvement

A patient’s teeth can nearly always be aesthetically improved. Everybody is different though and some cases may require a lot more work to be done. Especially when you are very young, you might be tempted to spend way over your budget in an attempt to ‘keep up with the Joneses’, but this could put you in debt and cause other problems too. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t seek improvements. Our Epsom cosmetic dental team are here to offer advice and can suggest ways to improve your teeth either within a given budget, or through the use of our beneficial payment plans. We will not ‘push’ you towards treatments that you don’t need or cannot afford.

That ‘perfect’ smile

There are many different ways to have a great looking smile but some of these may have longer term consequences that patients should be aware of. The most obvious visible effect of Love Island contestants is the whiteness of their teeth, and this is probably the most common area that younger people seek to improve. There are many ways to do this, and we’ll discuss the most popular way shortly. It does seem from magazine comments though, that some of the contestants have skipped this step and gone straight to a more comprehensive treatment; namely dental veneers.

Dental veneers are excellent and we are firm advocates of their use in the right circumstances. Where enamel erosion has occured, they are great for protecting the teeth, reducing sensitivity and helping to prevent tooth decay. They are also excellent for restoring the whiteness of teeth that have been heavily stained.

However, you should also be aware that veneers have a finite life-span, typically around 10 years, so, anyone in their early 20s who has them fitted could be replacing them several times during their lifetime. This isn’t the end of the world and can be done relatively straightforwardly; but it is worth considering if this is the most appropriate option early on in your life.

Teeth whitening

The most obvious and typically fastest way of having whiter teeth is to have a professional whitening treatment. This does offers a lengthy period of whiteness but will need to be repeated if you want to have consistently white teeth. There are two benefits of this which may be of interest to younger people especially. Firstly, it is non invasive and has no long term ill effects on your teeth, and secondly, it can be targeted to suit a specific time frame. For example, there may be times of the year when you particularly want to have great looking teeth, such as during the summer holidays. If this is your aim and you are less concerned during the winter months, this allows you to spread your budget flexibly.

Unless you are, or have been, a smoker, you may be lucky enough that your teeth are reasonably white anyway, as younger teeth tend to be. In this case, a teeth whitening procedure is an excellent option to lift their appearance several shades, making a noticeable difference without the need to undergo more complex treatments.

The treatment is also very convenient. We use the Zoom2 Chairside Whitening System which allows us to whiten your teeth in around an hour at the Clock Tower Dental Clinic.

Whether young or not, we offer a wide range of treatments that can help people of all ages to achieve a greatly improved smile. The treatments required can only be decided following an initial consultation where we will examine your teeth, discuss your suitability, needs and expectations, as well as options for payment.

To book your initial consultation, simply call us today on 01372 720136.