Why I've decided to get my teeth bleached – Helen Martin

In August, I hope I will have brighter teeth. I might even indulge in smiling and grinning. And perhaps that’s a strange thing to invest in when I’m 68.

Teeth-whitening procedures can be pricey (Picture: Sion Touhig/Getty Images)

Back in the old-fashioned journalism days, most of us smoked all day in the editorial office with ash-trays on our desks, as vital as typewriters and shorthand notebooks.

Our newspaper pubs, also any pubs or coffee shops for interviews, were clouded with smoke. And even when I was 30 and 40 we still had “smoking rooms” in the office.

All that (not to mention the vast consumption of alcohol) left many of us developing dull, grey or browning teeth. And for some inexplicable reason I also acquired a couple of vertical tooth cracks.

The challenge now is bleaching my teeth every night for about three weeks, then having six front munchers grinded down a bit to be covered by nice, clean veneers.

None of that is the accurate, dental, medical explanation, just my unqualified gist. But I’m sure many people will be curious about why I’m going through all this and, if I really cared about it, why didn’t I do it many years ago rather than now that I’m approaching 70.

It’s just that when people retire and cash in savings and investments, they acquire and retain more money than the days of mortgages, rearing children and all other vast expenses.

Now that Covid has banned holidays for the past two years, I’ve also saved the fortune I need for my brighter teeth – around £3,500.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.