Posted: August 30, 2022
Our face is often who we are to the world. In many ways, it acts as a stand-in for our identity and impacts everything from the way people act toward us to our self-esteem. But our faces affect more than just the way we look, they can also impact our health in a number of ways as well. Three things most readily affect the way our faces develop and the goal of full-face orthodontics is to ensure the most healthy development of each of them.
Facial Development
As it happens, the most aesthetically pleasing smiles are often the most healthy as well. People whose smiles are made up of misaligned, crooked teeth are often more susceptible to developing TMJ disorder, sleep apnea, poor posture, and other conditions.
People whose faces develop to their fullest potential have more aligned faces, straighter teeth, more complete jaw development, and healthier airways. What features allow this ideal development to take place? Three factors:
- Tongue
- TMJ
- Airway
Tongue
The tongue is an especially important feature of facial development because how someone positions their tongue can influence how they breathe and how their jaw develops.
When someone habitually rests their tongue on the floor of their mouth for example, it can cause the appearance of a double chin and a more rounded profile. This is in direct opposition to the recommended resting position of pressed up against the roof of the mouth which opens the airway and promotes ideal jaw development.
Another example, of the tongue’s influence on facial development is its role in breathing habits. If a person does not hold their tongue at the roof of their mouth while at rest, it can partially block the airway and encourage mouth breathing. Mouth breathing can lead the midface to not developing properly and the lower face to narrow and elongate.
TMJ
The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is another crucial component in a person’s facial development. A dysfunctional TMJ can lead to crowding, overdeveloped, or underdeveloped jaw growth.
As one of the most complex joints in the body, TMJ development is extra vulnerable to behavioral patterns such as early thumb sucking, mouth breathing, as well as trauma. Any of these factors can change the course of the jaw joint’s development and therefore affect the shape of the face.
Airway
Alongside influences like tongue posture, underdeveloped jaw growth, and mouth breathing, airway development can also change the shape of a person’s face and health of their jaw.
For example, poor airway development can change the way someone holds their face. Someone who does not breathe through their nose will generally hold their mouth slightly open.
Poor airway development and improper tongue posturing can also lead to sleep apnea which can cause dark circles under the eyes and general fatigued features in the face such as wrinkles.
Contact Evolution Dental Today
If you live in Calgary, Northwest Calgary, Cochrane or other nearby areas of Alberta and would like to learn more about your full-face orthodontics treatment options, you can call Evolution Dental today at 403-768-2433 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Kendra Schick.
*all procedures performed at our practice by a general dentist
