One of the most beautiful TV presenters wrote the book “PRO Face”, where she told how to preserve natural beauty and prolong youth.
With the permission of the publishing house “AST” we publish a chapter from the book “PRO face” by Tina Kandelaki.
“Remember the episode from the movie Pretty Woman, in which Julia Roberts’s character walks into the bathroom and flosses her teeth? To be honest, I could not understand its meaning for a very long time – largely because I saw dental floss for the first time and could not understand what it was for and what Vivian was doing with it. Nor could Edward Lewis performed by Richard Gere, who, looking at her, asked in bewilderment: “What are you doing?” It turned out that Vivian had a special relationship with her teeth: she was used to taking care of them thoroughly, she was taught that the condition of her teeth is very important, so dental floss is always with her …
Morning toothbrushing is a routine for us, which we perform without hesitation and in which, as it seems to us, there is nothing remarkable. It is possible that you will be surprised, but in addition to a toothbrush and toothpaste, there are many other gadgets that help take care of your teeth (dentists introduced me to them). You can use an irrigator, electric toothbrush, floss, and mouthwash.
In its scope, oral care is the same care as face and skin, and it also takes time. I have an irrigator, but I like flossing more, and I also have an electric toothbrush. In addition to my teeth, I always brush my tongue – this is very important. Before going to bed, I spend 30 minutes to an hour in the bathroom, cleaning myself up.
A good dentist is a family doctor. Moreover, this is a doctor who leads you through life, and not the one to whom you come once and hope that this time will be the last and you will never see him again. I am very glad that I was lucky to meet excellent dentists. (In general, I am lucky to have good specialists, perhaps because I quickly understand from a person whether he is a professional or not, how responsibly he treats his work and how well he does it.)
Before meeting with Omar Gazaev (and then with Andrey Zhuk), I never thought about changing the bite. I had two upper teeth protruding forward (in my old photographs this can be seen if you look closely), but I did not think to straighten them – I thought that this was not such a significant flaw. And Omar said that I definitely need to change the bite, because I talk a lot and because of the load, my teeth wear out. He warned that the situation would worsen further and wrinkles would begin to appear. After 30 years, the teeth generally begin to actively move – by themselves! Even a beautiful young woman in her thirties needs braces, although at first glance she is doing fine. Honestly, this news amazed me.
Omar and I had about the following dialogue (I quote it in a greatly abbreviated form).
– Braces ?! But is it too long?
– Yes, for two years.
– Internal?
– No, external.
– But how to kiss? How to live? As it is?
– So – kiss, live and eat. Can’t go anywhere.
I was 38 years old, and the prospect of wearing external braces did not please me at all. I didn’t make up my mind right away, I hesitated for a month, but in the end I agreed. And I do not regret it at all, on the contrary: I think that that decision was very correct. Now I’m sure: if you want your bite, and with it your face, to really change, then use braces: nothing better has yet been invented, except perhaps surgery.
Each of us has individual characteristics of the structure and development of the jaw system. By the age of 13-14, when all temporary teeth change to permanent ones, a person develops a bite – a certain closing of the teeth, which will accompany him throughout his life. The bite is very important.
Chewing food is just one of the functions of our jaw system. The human bite plays an important role in maintaining the correct tone of the facial muscles. Stand in front of a mirror and move your lower jaw back and forth. You will notice how the facial expression changes as the bite changes.
With an incorrect bite, teeth and jaw bones begin to deteriorate. Due to abrasion of the teeth, destruction of the bone tissue in which the roots of the teeth are located, as well as deformation of the jaw joint, the skin sags early, wrinkles appear, the corners of the mouth sink, the lips become asymmetrical. These are typical signs of an aging face.
In modern dentistry, anti-aging therapy is in the first place, which is based on maintaining a youthful face. Healthy teeth and correct bite not only make it possible to chew food well, but also preserve the beauty of the face for many years.
My dentist explained to me that dental health is not so much the absence of caries as the correct anatomy of the tooth! “New”, newly erupted permanent teeth have many tubercles on their surface. It is these bumps that ensure the quality of the chewing process. Dentists help patients preserve these bumps and repair them when they are erased.
Correct occlusion is such a closing of teeth, in which the load is evenly distributed over all teeth, which allows them to function stably, without wear, for many years, while maintaining their health.
According to statistics, a violation of the closing of the teeth occurs in 85 percent of people. In Europe and America, a culture of turning to an orthodontist for help in forming a correct bite in a child has formed. This process has two stages. The first is carried out at the age of 7-9 years, when the child is actively growing. At this stage, the orthodontist helps to establish the correct growth of the child’s jaw system. The second stage begins after 13-14 years, when all permanent teeth finish erupting. If they do not fit correctly, then braces should be used.
Youth is the best time for braces, but there is no age limit in modern orthodontics. You can correct the bite even at 60 years old. This helps keep the teeth from decaying. Remember that it is never too late to deal with dental health and occlusion! New technologies can give everyone a chance to enjoy their teeth for a lifetime.
The correct bite provides a person not only with a beautiful smile, but also improves the quality of life. If you want to visit the dentist only for preventive examinations once or twice a year, then first correct your bite. But be prepared for a long and painful journey.
I would very much like to reassure you by saying that this procedure is pleasant and practically painless, but I do not want to dissemble and mislead you. Wearing braces is uncomfortable and unpleasant. I often had to endure aching pain, especially at night. And over time, the pain does not subside, because every four to six weeks you need to visit an orthodontist who corrects the braces, as a result of which you need to get used to them again. But you need to endure, gritting your teeth (literally and figuratively), since beauty, as you know, requires sacrifice. I remind you once again, no pain, no gain (no result without pain). If you want radical changes (this is exactly what the bite correction refers to), then tune in to a long process. Miracles do not happen! Yes, plastic surgery can give instant results, but none of the surgeons and patients know for sure how the operation will end, since surgery is always a risk. Before changing the face, “altering” the noses and lips, correct the bite.
As a conditional bonus, braces are accompanied by a huge number of rituals that have to be observed on a daily basis. Caring for a bite correction machine is a whole story. The braces should be cleaned with a special brush and elastic bands should be put on. Of course, this is quite time consuming. In addition, wearing braces implies certain dietary restrictions. The fact is that the remnants of some products can get stuck and poorly cleaned out from under the arc, so you need to give up solid food, for example, nuts, seeds, dryers and cookies, sticky – chocolate, cheese and dried fruits, and you should also limit foods with dyes (tea, coffee, beets), carbonated drinks (so as not to increase acidity) and berries with small seeds. As you can see, the list is quite impressive, and sometimes it gets annoying to follow all of these recommendations, especially in restaurants. But thanks to self-discipline, I coped with the bouts of discontent and went to the end.
It also helped me that during the period that fell on the wearing of braces, I was not very often present in the frame. And I was also very lucky that I did not lisp. At first I experienced some problems with diction, but after a while they passed. But it could have been different: the fact is that braces have different frames and designs, sometimes they affect the speed and other features of speech. Thank God I managed to avoid problems.
After two years, you will be able to look at yourself in the mirror and make a decision: do plastic surgery or not. Believe me, the changes will be very dramatic and the need for the operation will disappear by itself (at least, the probability is very high). If you can survive these two years, consider that you have passed the first test of will and character.
After removing the braces, it is imperative to fix the result. To do this, you need to wear retainers. They are of two types: non-removable – thin wires on the inside of the front teeth – and removable – special thin transparent mouth guards that need to be worn at night throughout the year. The fact is that, as the orthodontist told me, the teeth continue to move, and the retainers will not allow them to return to their previous position. The pattern of wearing caps is individual, it is prescribed by a doctor. I sleep only in a mouth guard: I got used to it very quickly, I can’t say that I absolutely don’t feel it, but I don’t feel irritation either. The only thing: the mouthguard strongly relaxes the mouth, which makes it open, so I hardly look very sexy. But here again it is a matter of your personal choice: if it is important for you to be beautiful while you sleep (like Snow White waiting for a prince), then, of course, you will not want to sleep with a capa. If you need to maintain a correct bite for life, you cannot refuse a mouthguard. The decision is yours.