teeth

by Michele Bell

I don't like going to the dentist for many reasons. Aside from the prodding and scraping, I shutter when my dentist asks, "Have you been grinding your teeth?" While I'd love to shake my head and look at her like she's lost her mind, we both know that yours truly has taken to grinding my teeth on occasion. While getting a bite guard is the most often prescribed treatment for bruxism (that's the fancy medical term for grinding your teeth), there are a few other things that one can do to keep from clenching their way through the night.

To keep me from cracking my teeth into a bacterial oblivion, my dentist passed on some pointers to me that I'm happy to share with you. Want to check the suggestions out?

by Miriam Lacey

If you've ever seen one of those baby beauty pageant shows, then you've probably noticed the "flippers" some little competitors wear to cover their missing baby teeth. Apparently, though, the denture-like faux smiles aren't just for small beauty queens — now even regular old adults can wear one.

The Snap-On Smile system (around $1,200) is basically just a denture you fit over your teeth that has a "perfect" row of pearly whites up front. So whenever you feel like you need a straight, white smile, you can just take it out of your pocket and pop it in. It's a little creepy, but I can also see the appeal. If you've had a history of dental problems, something like this could be helpful. Would you use one of these as a temporary fix, or would you just rather show everyone your natural teeth?

by Jaime Richards

In Hollywood, having perfectly white, perfectly straight Chiclet-like teeth has been the norm for decades. The problem with going for the flawless look, however, is obvious: it simply looks fake.

Gap teeth may be the next big beauty feature, and similarly, immaculate-looking veneers are becoming so yesterday. "The white standard got too white," cosmetic dentist Dr. Marc Lowenberg told the NYT, "[and] the perfection standard got too perfect."

Instead, it's all about creating perfectly imperfect choppers that blend in, all while looking better than what the patient actually has. That might include a less opaque look, more discoloration, teeth that overlap slightly, and adding texture or natural wear to the veneers. What do you think about this movement to get teeth looking less flawless? Would you be glad to see the end of the glow-in-the-dark teeth era?

by Daily Makeover

We're excited to present this article from one of our favorite sites, Daily Makeover!

A bright, white smile is one of the easiest ways to look stunning. The problem is, getting your teeth in tip-top shape like Lea Michele's here can require lots of pricey visits to your dentist.

We wanted to take the hassle out of teeth-whitening, so we brought the dentist to you. Read on for some great DIY tips from top NYC cosmetic dentist Dr. Timothy Chase and you'll have your smile back to pearly white condition in no time (and no money!). To see how to do it, just keep reading.

by Miriam Lacey

Here's a new addition to the annals of quirky products: Flossbox ($24/pack of six), a credit-card-shaped dental floss holder with a mirror on the back. The catch is that for a little extra, you can put whatever you want on the front, from your personal information to a design you upload yourself.

I can see orthodontists leaping all over these to use as business cards, but they could also make good favors for a post-trick-or-treating Halloween party — or at the end of any kind of big barbecue/foodie shindig. If you're a frequent flosser, does the Flossbox appeal, or would you rather just stick with slipping a tiny spool of the stuff in your purse?

by POPSUGAR Beauty

Remember when Angelina Jolie started the vogue for majorly pillowy pouts, practically launching the entire lip plumping industry? Well now, according to The Wall Street Journal, it looks like gap teeth could be the next big "It" facial feature.

With young stars like Anna Paquin, Demi Lovato, and model Lara Stone wearing their diastema (the dental term for a gap) proudly, apparently some people like the look so much they're having a gap put in their teeth to add to their sex appeal. Putting aside the fact that declaring a part of someone's body to be "cool" or not is kind of absurd in the first place, do you think we'll all be wearing faux gaps in a few years' time, or will a gap-toothed smile remain a pretty, but relatively unique, feature?

by babysugar

When dental health becomes a battlefield, it is time to try a new tactic. Lights and colors have always attracted tots and the TrendyKid Wash and Brush Timer ($7.50) uses both to keep kids at the sink until their hygiene tasks are complete. With a simple press of the button, mom (or tyke) chooses the cleaning to be completed and a green light begins to flash, setting off a two-minute timer for tooth brushing and a 20 second timer for hand washing. Once the timer is through, the light turns red and lil ones know they are good to go. Keeping clean has never been so much fun! Would the TrendyKid Wash and Brush Timer work for you?

by POPSUGAR Fitness

Sometimes while watching a red carpet event, I am blinded by how dazzling (read: blinding) a celeb's smile can look. I'm thinking they must be doing a little more than the occasional white strip I do myself. Well, according to Blake Lively's dentist Dr. Laura Torrado, it takes more than brushing and flossing to achieve a movie star smile. Torrado recently shared with Us Weekly a few tricks of the trade to get your teeth healthy and beautiful.

• Start with white teeth. Torrado says that at-home bleaching kits are more about maintaining an already good-looking smile than lifting years of stains away. To really get a dull smile looking bright and even, she says, invest in a professional whitening treatment.
• Be conscious of what foods you eat. Certain foods — like coffee, tea, and red wine — have the ability to stain your teeth. Over time these foods will cause your smile to look dull and brown. Torrado says you can reduce stains from these foods by biting into something that is high in fiber.

See the rest of the tips when you read more

by POPSUGAR Beauty

By now, we all know smoking doesn't do our bodies any amount of good. But just in case you needed a few more reasons not to light up, be sure to check out my roundup of the various ways smoking wreaks havoc on your beauty, too.

Smoking Destroys Your Nails	Cigarettes Make Hair Dull and Stinky	Smoking's Bad News For Your Teeth
It Prematurely Ages Your Skin	And Does Even More Damage to the Skin, Too	Test Yourself on the Dangers of Smoking

by POPSUGAR Beauty

Going eco doesn’t have to mean sacrificing quality. Watch our video now to see what three eco-friendly products from Aerie Botanicals, Burt's Bees, and Josie Maran can do for you.