Most people do not associate their teeth with having anything to do with aging faces they
see. Believe it or not, the teeth and ones bite plays a major role in how faces look and
age. Some also feel they cannot see their teeth when they smile or have TMJ pain.
There is much more to teeth than just color and white smile. To better understand how
teeth and ones bite affects facial features, take a look at the photo below. This gentleman
had worn his teeth down at a young age due to a misaligned bite. He had a history of
breaking teeth, breaking crowns, and popping of the TMJ joints. Rather than just fix the worn
teeth to the bad bite and the same incorrect facial proportions, his bite was corrected to
the correct physiologic position. Look at the difference in his face and teeth!!
Cheeks and lips are supported by the teeth and jaw, which means that the size and shape
of the teeth has an impact on the overall face. As seen in the above photo, the lower 1/3
of the face can be changed with a non-surgical facelift with proper dental treatment.
Another way to look at this is shorter teeth, from wear or a misaligned bite, means shorter
faces. A collapsed bite results in an aged facial appearance that is easily seen in the
cheeks and lips as well as the lower 1/3 of the face. Plastic surgery cannot change the
length of the lower 1/3 of the face without dental restorations or some sort of jaw
development.
How Can Dental Work Help?
Depending on one’s situation, teeth height and position can be altered by conservative porcelain
restorations. If the teeth are leaning in, sometimes orthodontics can also help by up righting the teeth, which will lead to an increase in facial height. This will not help if the teeth are worn down.
In our office, before any long-term treatment is started, a fixed orthotic is placed in the
mouth to “test drive” the new smile and facial features. This is essentially reversible and allows the
patient to be certain the bite and jaw alignment are corrected and feels comfortable.
Biomedical computers are also utilized to help find the correct physiologic bite and
alignment of the facial muscles and facial features. With the corrected facial harmony,
the smile design comes into play, building teeth to the new bite. Smile designs are based
on the individual. No two smiles should look alike as everyone is different.
If you have any questions about Houston TMJ Treatment, Non-surgical Facelifts or
Non-surgical Underbite or Overbite Correction, please do not hesitate to contact our office, Ronald W. Konig
DDS, FAGD, LVIF, 713-668-2289.
