Ask Dr. Canzoneri: Fix Your Teeth, Fix Your Face

By Kenneth J Canzoneri DDS

Dear Dr. KC: 

I feel like my face is getting shorter. The lines around my nose and mouth are looking more obvious and they seem to be getting deeper. My husband says I grind my teeth. What is going on!

–  Changing Face (not for the better)

Dear Changing Face: 

I know this sounds like a Halloween article but this is a serious problem. What is happening to your face is called “loosing vertical dimension.” A simple explanation is your nose and chin are getting closer as your grinding causes your teeth to net shorter.

There is a great article published in the New York Times from June 13, 2019 titled “Fix your teeth, fix your face.” The article discusses the various reasons you get “facial collapse” and in turn the dental procedures that can reverse the loss of tooth structure and recreate a more youthful appearance and smile. A number of patients ask me about fillers to restore the fullness to lips, cheeks and to eliminate the lines near the nose and mouth. I usually advise a patient to rebuild their smile first because it will provide a framework for the lips and lower face that can lessen the amount of fillers patients may need. The article goes on to say that “dental intervention isn’t a face-lift—more like a baby lift. The results will be subtle, but a lot of times subtle is exactly what you want.”

If you feel that as you have aged your face is collapsing contact a dentist who is knowledgeable and experienced in dental rejuvenation. It could change your life.

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