The dentist's role in facial anti-aging

Facial aging is a dynamic process involving the aging of soft tissue and bony structures. The shape, size, and volume of the bones of the face have all been shown to change. The cosmetic community has focused on soft tissue changes, particularly changes in the skin and loss of fat volume. However, the bony components of the face are also important for overall facial 3D contour. "The bones of the face retain the capacity for remodeling at any age." Dentofacial orthopedics is the area of dentistry concerned with the supervision, guidance, and correction of the growing and mature orofacial structures. This includes conditions that require movement of the teeth or correction of malrelationships and malformations of related structures by the adjustment of relationships between and among teeth and facial bones by the application of forces or the stimulation and redirection of functional forces within the craniofacial complex. The use of intraoral appliances for this treatment is customary. Since we now recognize that the bony midface undergoes a process of bony resorption and volume loss with increasing age it should be of interest to the dental and cosmetic surgery community that we can show an increase in midface volume and significant bony remodeling with the use of a functional orthopedic orthodontic appliance.