Advanced Anti Aging
Dentofacial Rejuvenation and Advanced Anti-Aging
Structural restoration that turns back the clock from the inside out.
Most conversations about facial aging focus on the surface: skincare, injectables, laser treatments. These have their place, but they don't address what's happening underneath. As we get older, the lower third of the face gradually loses support due to tooth wear, bone changes, and a reduction in bite height. That structural shift contributes to wrinkling around the mouth, flattening of the lips, and softening of the jawline in ways that surface treatments alone can't fully correct.
At San Diego Dental Health Center, we take a different approach. By restoring the dental foundation that supports your facial structure and coordinating that work closely with dermatologists and plastic surgeons, we're able to address aging from two directions at once. The result is a more natural outcome than either discipline can achieve independently.
Seeing the Result Before Treatment Begins
Before we recommend anything, we show you what's possible. Using AI-assisted facial recognition and 3D simulation software, we generate a dynamic video model of your face from a single 2D photograph. This shows the projected lifting effect that restoring your bite height will have on your lips, cheeks, and jawline, alongside any planned dental changes.
That same digital model is shared with our collaborating specialists. Your dentist, dermatologist, and any other providers involved in your plan are working from the same visual reference, which means the dental ceramics, any injectable treatments, and skin therapies are coordinated to complement each other rather than designed in isolation.
Our Diagnostic Approach
Getting the structural result right requires more than a visual assessment. We build a complete picture of your facial anatomy before designing your treatment.
Facial and Intraoral Scanning
We map your external soft tissue and lip position alongside your teeth and gums. This tells us exactly how your dental restorations need to be shaped to support your natural lip fullness and soften lines around the mouth.
CBCT 3D Imaging
Cone Beam CT gives us a view of bone density and facial skeletal structure, as well as airway health. This confirms that the framework we're building on is sound before we begin.
4D Dynamic Jaw Tracking
By recording how your jaw moves in real time rather than just at rest, we can design restorations that reduce muscle tension, encourage proper jaw alignment, and support balanced facial proportions over the long term.
The In-House Lab Advantage
Because our master technician and CAD/CAM laboratory are on-site, we're not waiting on an outside lab to fabricate your restorations. Once your prototype arch is approved, your final zirconia or lithium disilicate crowns and overlays are milled in-house and hand-finished to match the texture and translucency of natural enamel.
The 3D-printed trial arch plays an important role in this process. Before final fabrication, we print a full prototype you can wear so you, our team, and any collaborating providers can evaluate the immediate effect on your facial contours. Adjustments are made at this stage, which protects the final result.
Turnaround times vary by case, but eliminating the external lab dramatically reduces the overall timeline compared to conventional reconstruction workflows.
Two Disciplines, One Coordinated Plan
Our prosthodontist focuses on the structural side: restoring bite height, tooth volume, and jaw alignment in a way that naturally supports and lifts the lower face. Our collaborating dermatologists and plastic surgeons focus on the surface: targeted skin therapies, laser treatments, or neuromodulators timed and placed to work with the structural changes, not around them.
Treating both layers together produces a more seamless and lasting outcome than either approach delivers on its own.
A Different Kind of Anti-Aging Conversation
If you've noticed changes in your lower face that skincare and injectables haven't fully addressed, the issue may be structural. A comprehensive consultation with our team can determine whether dentofacial rejuvenation is the right path for you and what that treatment would actually involve.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is dentofacial rejuvenation and how is it different from regular cosmetic dentistry?
Cosmetic dentistry typically focuses on the appearance of the teeth themselves: color, shape, and alignment. Dentofacial rejuvenation takes a wider view, looking at how the teeth and bite structure affect the appearance of the entire lower face. By restoring lost bite height and tooth volume, we can produce a lifting effect on the lips, cheeks, and jawline that goes beyond what tooth whitening or veneers alone would achieve.
How does tooth wear affect facial aging?
Over years of use, teeth gradually lose height through wear. As that vertical dimension decreases, the lower third of the face loses some of the support it relies on. This can contribute to deepening lines around the mouth, a reduction in lip fullness, and softening along the jawline. Restoring proper bite height rebuilds that support and can meaningfully improve facial proportions.
Do I need to see a dermatologist or plastic surgeon as part of this treatment?
Not necessarily. Some patients pursue the dental restoration component on its own and are happy with those results. For patients interested in addressing both the structural and surface aspects of facial aging together, we coordinate with our network of specialist partners. We'll discuss your goals during your consultation and recommend a treatment plan based on what's most appropriate for you specifically.
What does the treatment actually involve?
It varies by patient. Most dentofacial rejuvenation cases involve some form of full-mouth or partial-mouth restoration using custom-milled crowns or overlays to rebuild bite height and tooth structure. We use our diagnostic stack of CBCT imaging, intraoral scanning, and 4D jaw tracking to design the treatment, and a 3D-printed prototype arch to test and refine the result before anything permanent is placed.
How long does treatment take?
That depends on the complexity of your case and which treatments are involved. The in-house lab reduces fabrication time considerably compared to practices that rely on outside labs, but comprehensive dentofacial work is typically carried out across multiple appointments. We'll give you a realistic timeline after your initial consultation.
Is this painful?
Dental procedures are performed under local anesthesia. Any discomfort between appointments is generally manageable and temporary. If you're also working with a dermatologist or surgeon as part of a broader plan, they'll walk you through what to expect from their side of the treatment. Our goal is to make the overall process as straightforward as possible.
Will the results look natural?
That's a core part of what we're designing for. The combination of 3D simulation, prototype testing, and hand-finished ceramic restorations is aimed specifically at producing a result that reads as refreshed rather than obviously worked on. The coordination between dental and aesthetic providers also helps ensure that the different treatments complement each other visually rather than competing.