Dental Facial Aesthetics

In Facial Aesthetics, we are looking at facial features which are in some way non pleasing to the eyes. These may be soft tissue features ( the flesh covering the face, or the hard tissue meaning the bony structures of the face. Common soft tissue concerns are frown lines and wrinkles. Hard tissue examples include under-developed  nose bridges  and prominent jaw lines

Sometimes the anomalies can be intercepted during growth with Orthodontic treatment. Examples are underdeveloped or over-developed jaws, and some asymmetric growth of the jaw.

However, hard tissue features, once formed, are not easily corrected in the adult. Full correction usually requires surgery which many people find to be too invasive and costly.

The modern day approach to Facial Aesthetics is to keep treatment simple and minimally invasive. An added advantage is this keeps the cost down as well

For frown lines and wrinkles, it is possible to inject a muscle relaxant to reduce the effect of muscle action which is what causes the furrows in frown lines and wrinkles. The same muscle relaxant can be used to reduce the action of the upper lip muscle so that any prominent upper jaw is made less obvious because the upper lip will not pull upwards as much as before. This is a simpler alternative to performing a jaw surgery to position the upper jaw further inwards. Because its action is to relax muscles, it is also useful to relief certain conditions like migraine and jaw ache due to over-tight muscles. Sometimes a nose may look fat also due to over-pull from tight muscles.

Another useful line of treatment is Hyaluronic Acid. This is a naturally occurring substance found in the body. A synthetic version of this material can be injected under the skin of the face to pad up deficient areas like nose bridges, sunken cheeks and small chins. It is also useful to balance up asymmetry in the left and right side of the face. Sometimes the face may appear sunken after a number of teeth extractions result in loss of the supporting facial bone. Do note that this material will disappear after about six months meaning that while it is correctible and reversible, it will also require periodic re-treatment. It is also not effective at correcting sagging facial muscles or lack of muscle tone.