Getting older is something that seems to be creeping up on me. Despite the fact that in my head, I’m still in my early 20s, my birth certificate says different and it’s hard to comprehend that I’m heading towards middle age.

One of the great things about doing a job seeing the same people twice yearly is watching people grow up.

I’ve seen some of the children in our Botley Road practice since they were toddlers and I’m now watching some of them go off to university... nothing makes you feel quite as old as that.

Dental nurses are generally quite young too but there was a time I was younger than the nurses.

Several patients a day used to ask if I was actually old enough to be a dentist but 16 years and three kids have started to take their toll.

Nowadays I’m more likely to be asked if the dental nurses are my children.

For the first time last week, I found myself holding something at arms-length so that I could read it.

How long will it be before I’ve got reading glasses hanging on a cord around my neck?

Ageing seems to be a lot more traumatic for women, and I’ve been wondering why that is.

All around us we are bombarded by images of young and usually beautiful women, on TV, in films, in adverts and we get used to viewing women in this way.

It comes as a surprise to see a women in her 40s, who despite being elegant and self- assured, looks visibly older that we are used to viewing.

How many female film stars over the age of 50 could the average person name compared to their male counterparts?

How often do we see an older woman used to advertise anything other than vitamins, Saga holidays or denture fixative?

It’s as if when women get past 50, they actually disappear.

There was a not very scientific study done recently that showed that women stop being noticed somewhere around the age of 37.

How utterly depressing – according to that study, I’ve been invisible for the past three years.

I don’t buy into the theory that men age more gracefully either. Both sexes get grey hair, lined skin and will put on weight if they don’t keep a check on themselves. But somehow this seems to be more socially acceptable for men than women.

Maybe if we saw more advertising images used of young men, we’d notice the ageing process more in men too.

Don’t misunderstand the point I’m trying to make here; there is so much more to a person than the way they look but, like it or not, almost everyone with sight makes some sort of judgement based on appearance.

Often I think women are their own worst enemy, placing huge importance on looks, spending fortunes on plastic surgery in a vain attempt to achieve the “perfect” image. I think it’s important to have self-respect and there is nothing wrong with trying to look your best, but we have to accept that we are all getting older and maybe the best way to deal with this is to embrace it rather than trying to hold back the years.

We need to see more examples of older women and not just in adverts for older women things.

I may not be ready to give up the hair dye just yet but I think at 40, I'm not yet anywhere near invisible.

Move over George Clooney, I’m done with the stereotype of the suave 50-something man going slightly grey at the temples.

Maybe it’s time I became a poster girl, I hear Poligrip and Saga are recruiting...

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