How Veneers Can Take Years Off Your Face

Most people think of veneers as a way to brighten a smile. But there's something bigger going on, and it has to do with how your whole face ages.

The Lower Third of the Face Ages Fastest

The lower one-third of your face ages faster than the rest, and it's all related to the teeth. You could get a dermatology procedure, you could even get a facelift, but it won't increase the distance between your nose and your chin.

Over time, teeth go through the aging process like the rest of the body. Because we use our teeth as tools, biting and chewing, the enamel wears down. Grinding and clenching can speed it up. The physical size of the tooth goes from bigger to smaller, and it happens uniformly across all the teeth because of how the chewing mechanism works.

Why That Shrinks Your Face

When all your teeth wear down and get smaller, the distance between your nose and your chin actually gets smaller too. You've seen what happens when someone takes their dentures out: the whole face smushes down. Put the teeth back in, and it props right back open.

So when we do restorative work and build the size of the teeth back up with porcelain veneers, we're not only restoring the teeth to where they originally were. We're increasing that distance between the nose and the chin and bringing you back to where you used to be. It's kind of like rewinding the clock. Elongating it slims out the jawline, gives the teeth more volume, and creates a more youthful appearance.

That's a side of veneers most people never think about, and it's one of the reasons this work is as much about the face as it is about the smile.