Have the desire to look and feel younger? Instead of going to a plastic surgeon or an aesthetician, make an appointment with a cosmetic dentist. "Full-mouth rehabilitation not only gives patients a beautiful smile, but it gives them the lip support, the cheek support, and the facial support that smooths out wrinkles on the face," says Dr. Jeffrey Haddad of Rochester Advanced Dentistry in Rochester.
Many people, he explains, don't realize that teeth, especially back teeth, support the face, lips, and even the musculature of the neck. What we do on a very regular basis is what we call a non-surgical facelift. We had a woman come in recently who had had Botox and fillers, but she still wasn't happy with the way she looked. The reason was that her bite and teeth had collapsed over the years."
People who tend to clench and grind their teeth can wear them down, and as they age, this, along with past dental work and discoloration, can make them look older. "There have been so many studies on how important your smile is when it comes to not only your appearance and your age but even how people perceive your intelligence," says Dr. Haddad. A beautiful smile also has such a positive effect on confidence level and mental health.
Most people, he says, think that addressing their smiles is a vanity thing. "In my opinion, it's really a quality of life thing because if you aren't confident, if you're afraid to smile or covering your mouth when you smile, that's not a way to live."
A misaligned bite can also cause many physical issues. When people grind their teeth, they often wake up with headaches, pain in the jaw and teeth, ringing in the ears, and vertigo. "Just removing those symptoms makes a huge difference in quality of life."
Very precise and advanced computerized equipment measures the muscles of the face and shows where the jaw position and height of the bite used to be. Dr. Haddad can then give patients back the height, tooth structure, and proper jaw position they had when they were younger. This makes teeth look and perform better.
"Everything we do starts with health and function, so when we do this anti-aging dentistry, as I like to call it, we're removing any disease in the mouth, taking out old fillings and old crowns. We're removing all that old-school metal, and we're making the mouth as healthy as it can be. The bonus is a beautiful cosmetic smile and a more youthful look."
Once the preparation is done, the actual procedure can be accomplished in just two visits. Although it's not painful, he's able to provide patients with sedation if they so desire.
Afterward, Dr. Haddad takes steps to ensure that patients' mouths stay healthy and beautiful. "After we do a full-mouth rehabilitation, we're going to make an appliance that will support their jaw at night and also protect their dental work and investment so they don't go down that path again."
Patients are monitored over the years because teeth may need some rebalancing as their bodies change. "We all need maintenance, and we keep patients balanced so they're healthy and functional and keeping that beautiful smile," he says.
If people are going to have this type of dentistry done or are even considering it, he stresses that they want to go to someone who's been properly trained and does this level of dentistry regularly.
"Since there aren't that many dentists that have been trained in it, I go and teach doctors across the country," says Dr. Haddad. "I even had a gentleman dentist from Japan in my class."
He encourages people to come in for a consultation and be educated about their options. "A lot of times, we're even able to give them some digital versions of how they could look after going through the process."
Also, anti-aging dentistry isn't only for the older population. "We have patients as young as their early 30s coming in because they don't want this misalignment process to happen. We address their teeth in a proactive way so that they will not have that destructive process or deterioration happen."
Dr. Haddad is thankful for what he's able to do for his patients on a day-to-day basis. "This is what my passion is," he says. We're doing dentistry that truly affects people's lives, whether that's giving them the confidence to smile or getting them out of pain. It's the most fulfilling thing I can do in my profession."
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"There have been so many studies on how important your smile is when it comes to not only your appearance and your age but even how people perceive your intelligence,"
"In my opinion, it's really a quality of life thing because if you aren't confident, if you're afraid to smile or covering your mouth when you smile, that's not a way to live."