Aging of the Lower Face: How Your Teeth and Bite Shape the Lips and Support Your Smile
- Empower Your Smile
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
By Dr. Patricia Moezinia | Empower Your Smile DDS | Tribeca, NYC
When we think about facial aging, we usually focus on skin — wrinkles, loss of volume, and sagging. But what many people don’t realize is that the structure beneath the skin — the teeth, bone, and bite — has just as much impact on how our face looks as we age.
Your teeth support your lips and frame your lower face. When they wear down, shift inward, or lose height, the lips lose their natural support, and even the best fillers or creams can’t restore that balance for long.
The Foundation Beneath the Skin
Think of your teeth and jaw as the scaffolding beneath the lower third of your face. Over time, several natural changes occur:
Tooth wear shortens your face vertically, making the lips look thinner.
Bite collapse deepens lines around the mouth and chin.
Bone resorption after tooth loss causes the lower face to sink inward.
Crowded or angled teeth push the lips inward, changing the mouth’s width and
curvature.
When the teeth are not in proper alignment or the bite is off, the lips lose outward projection and fullness. The skin around them folds inward, accentuating wrinkles and lines. Even patients who maintain smooth skin may notice their faces look “tired” or “collapsed” — because the underlying dental foundation has changed.
Why Teeth Are the True Lip Support
When the bite is properly aligned, the lips rest naturally against the teeth, maintaining soft volume and definition. But if the teeth are crossed, tilted, or uneven, the lips lose their underlying structure. As Dr. Patricia Moezinia explains: “If your teeth are crossed or angled in, or your bite is off, it’s going to affect the size of your mouth and the shape of your lips. It doesn’t matter how much we fill around it — if you don’t address the way the teeth support the lips, nothing we do will look as good or last as long.”
That’s why at Empower Your Smile DDS, every facial and cosmetic evaluation begins with one simple request: “Smile for me.” By observing how your teeth move with your lips, Dr. Moezinia can see exactly where structural support is missing — and how to restore it naturally.
Small Dental Changes, Big Facial Impact
You don’t always need dramatic treatment to rejuvenate your lower face. In many cases, small, precise adjustments can make a significant difference in both lip shape and facial harmony:
Porcelain Veneers – Reshape and realign your teeth to reestablish height, width, and lip
support.
Invisalign® – Correct crowding or narrow arches to gently widen the smile and improve
mouth symmetry.
Bite Rebalancing – Opens collapsed bites and restores vertical dimension for a youthful
profile.
Tooth Replacement (Implants) – Prevent bone loss and facial sagging after tooth loss.
The Teeth–Skin–Smile Connection
Aging isn’t just about the skin’s surface — it’s about what’s beneath it. Even with skincare or aesthetic treatments, results are limited if the teeth and bite are not properly supporting the facial structure.
By restoring this foundation, the skin drapes more smoothly, the mouth looks fuller, and the face regains its youthful proportion — all through dental artistry.
This is why true facial rejuvenation starts with the smile.
A Natural, Lasting Approach to Facial Rejuvenation
Dr. Patricia Moezinia’s approach combines dental precision with facial aesthetics.
She focuses on restoring the architecture of the smile — the shape, height, and alignment of the
teeth — to bring back facial balance and soft lip support that looks completely natural.
“With small changes, like veneers or Invisalign®, you can realign your teeth, readjust your
whole arch, and bring back youthful support — often in just two visits.”
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