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Everything from facials to laser treatments can help you look your best, but don’t forget to be proactive about taking care of yourself between procedures. One habit that may help fight the effects of aging over the long-term is flossing.

Dr. Eugene Antenucci explained to MSNBC for a recent article that you leave 40 percent of your teeth dirty with bacteria if you’re not flossing, which causes staining and yellowing between and around teeth.

Too much plaque can lead to gingivitis, the first stage of gum disease. Gum disease symptoms include red, swollen, or bleeding gums, receding gums, and the formation of deep pockets between teeth and gums, according to WebMD. If left untreated, gum disease can end with tooth loss due to destruction of the tissue that surrounds your teeth.

“You register an older look because you see more spaces, less and uneven gum tissue,” according to Antenucci, a spokesperson for the Academy of General Dentistry.

Eventually gum disease can cause the bones underneath to dissolve away, explains Dr. Donald Clem, a dentist in Fullerton, Calif. “In later stages of periodontal disease we would see disfigurement in terms of caving in of the lips and cheek and wrinkles around the lips and cheeks.”

A range of cosmetic services, from Botox to a chemical peel, can help your skin look its best—and so can habits that you do every day, such as flossing and wearing sunscreen.

Scientists believe that Brooke Greenberg, a 17-year old girl whose cognitive and physical growth never moved beyond the state of a toddler, can give us insight about the aging process.

Although she has experienced many health problems, her body has changed very little over the years, an oddity that has piqued the interest of medical researchers at the University of South Florida.

Because her body is seemingly “frozen in time,” they believe that Brooke has some kind of gene mutation that could potentially be used for anti-aging purposes.  Research on her condition was presented last week at The Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science.

Dr. Richard Walker, who is leading the research, says he hopes the team can “compare her genome to the normal version” so they can find and study certain genes that affect aging and possibly control them.