Typically, we associate ageing with sagging skin, wrinkles and gray hair. Branded anti-wrinkle creams and hair dyes become our new saviors; if still not satisfied, people seek facelifts and wrinkle reducing procedures to ward off the signs of ageing. But more often than not, these measures can rarely bring back the young look. Don’t you agree?
Libby Saylor/Unsplash | Regardless of how many cosmetic products we try, facial ageing is something that can't be reduced without medical attention
Have you ever wondered why? Allow us to shed some light on that.
New research shows that skin tightening alone can’t restore one’s youth as the underlying facial bones, particularly the jaw which is considered to be the foundation of the lower face, contribute largely to aging. So, to rejuvenate the skin, reshaping the bones is of primary importance. Bet you didn’t know that!
What research points out
After analyzing computed tomography scans of the facial bones of young people (age 20 to 40), middle-aged people (41 to 64), and older people (65 and up), researchers have found that reductions in the angle of the lower jaw cause it to jut forward but at a lower height. This in turn makes the nose, mouth, and forehead more pronounced.
‘Bite’, the jaw position where the upper and lower jaws meet, is responsible for the overall shape and appearance of the face. This ‘bite’ is considered to be healthy when both the upper and lower teeth sit in perfect alignment with each other, with the upper teeth overlapping the lower teeth by less than half an inch. In this case, the smile is natural and shows no signs of discomfort. There are, however, four conditions of misaligned jaws:
- Overbite - when upper teeth substantially protrude over lower teeth
- Underbite - when lower teeth substantially protrude over upper teeth
- Crossbite - when a few teeth tilt outwards towards the cheek muscles
- Open bite - when the teeth don’t meet at the front (this usually results in a stretched mouth and ‘gummy’ smile)
These disorders result in stress on the jaw muscles and decreased chin projection causing tension to spread to the muscles in the neck, shoulders, and back. All of this, in turn, contributes to facial ageing.
Enis Yavuz/Unsplash | Research has found that jaw disorders like tooth loss, misalignment, bite errors, etc. result in facial aging
Additionally, loss of teeth also affects skin aging. When a human loses teeth from the lateral areas of the jaw, there can be a narrowing of the face as well as a hollowing of the cheeks. In contrast, anterior tooth loss will produce a concave profile. Therefore, loss of teeth affects the density and thickness of the jawbones, reducing the size of the jaw area and foreshortening the facial appearance.
What you should consider attaining a youthful look
As mentioned earlier, to attain a more youthful and natural look, it’s necessary to undergo jaw correction. Misalignment, which tends to erode the enamel cover due to teeth grinding, is completely rectified through such a procedure (which is generally a surgery) and dental health is boosted.
However, it’s important to note that even though this is an effective process to do away with skin aging, jaw correction surgery includes several risks like excessive blood loss, infection, loss of a portion of the jaw, and long-term effects like permanent nerve injury or loss of sensation around the lower part of the mouth. So, if the very idea of surgery scares you, you can opt for the non-surgical option of facelift dentistry which has negligible side effects.
Jose Vazquez/Unsplash | To attain a naturally youthful look, you might need to undergo a surgical jaw correction or a non-surgical face-list dentistry
Wrapping it up
Just like death, aging is an inevitable phase of our life over which we don’t have any control. No matter how many branded creams we use or how many artificial treatments we undergo, the effects of aging become apparent with time. So, why not don it like an old cloth and create a new look out of it?
