“Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m sixty-four?” sang Paul McCartney, back in the days when the Beatles were the rage and being over 60 was considered ….. well … old. How ironic that the same generation that heard these lyrics for the first time has now redefined aging.
In November of 2005 Newsweek’s cover proclaimed “READY OR NOT, BOOMERS TURN 60.” 3.4 million Americans were born in 1946 — a million more than in the entire previous decade. And 1957 saw the largest number of births in any one year in US history: 4.3 million.
Older generations had predictable benchmarks between birth and death: college, family life, empty nest, retirement. Not any more. As boomers get older, they demand more and disrupt any predictable patterns set by earlier generations.
In some areas of the country, you’ll find 50 and 60 year olds starting a second or third family, buying a bigger house and spending money at Disney. My 40-something year old brother and sister-in-law in San Francisco are among the youngest parents where their six and seven year old children attend school.
Yankelovich Partners, one of America’s respected research groups, surveyed early boomers (those leading the generation in age) who defined “old age” as starting 3 years after life expectancy (82.3 years). Irrational as it may be, boomers are not bound by facts. They fully expect advances in health care to have them living an active fulfilling life in good health.
Boomers are not thinking in terms of “slowing down,” “aging gracefully,” or “retiring.” According to Merrill Lynch’s New Retirement Survey, 80% plan to work well past age 65. This explains the sizable segment of boomers who are extraordinarily proactive in attempting to influence their own health and looks with what were once considered “alternative” or “radical” means. This is fueling dramatic sales growth in nutritional supplements, herbal supplements, treatments available at foreign clinics, and organic foods.
The explosion in services and products just mentioned comprise the “wellness industry.” These and others catering to wellness, such as cosmetic surgeries, cosmetic dentistry, massage, and integrative medicine have grown to an estimated $400 billion dollar industry in 2005 (Business Week).
I see this regularly in my own dental practice. Half of my patients are over the age of 40. For the most part, these folks take excellent care to maintain a healthy, attractive smile. Increasingly, I am restoring gum health, rebuilding teeth and re-creating smiles. Whereas even ten years ago patients of the same age would be content to neglect their dental health and get dentures, this mindset is no longer as common.
I challenge you to name any other single enhancement that improves appearance and health as drastically as restoring teeth and gums and updating your smile.
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