According to Howard Langstein, M.D., a professor and the chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center who reviewed 120 facial CT scans and measured changes that occurred to the bones of the face over time. The results were published in the journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in January 2010. The scans were form women and men. With the aid of a computer program differing measurements were taken and the results were compared across different age groups. The Use of a CT scan allowed for a more accurate measurement because of the ability to view and take measurements three dimensionally. This is more reliable than previous research which only looked at traditional x-rays.
The results were as follows. The angle of the jaw increased dramatically with age, therefore less of a square jaw look. Also what changed was the jaw length and jaw height. This all means that for all of us there will be a significant decrease in Jaw volume. This all contributes to the sagging of the skin and aging appearance.
So is there anything we can do to avoid this?
Make sure teeth are healthy and prevent tooth loss. Once you have tooth loss bone loss follows. Teeth are a stimulus for the bone to remain intact. Prevent periodontal disease therefore the bone surrounding the teeth remain healthy. If you are definitely losing a tooth for whatever reason make sure it is replaced with a Dental implant. Dental implants also act as a stimulant to keep the bone in place. Make sure the facial muscles are well exercised. That could be with eating whole foods that need to be chewed harder and avoiding soft processed foods.
