It has long been known and understood that your lifestyle can have a dramatic impact on your risk of age-related diseases. However, there has been less information available looking at the link between lifestyle and facial ageing… Until now.
A recent study [Gunn, Dick & van Heemst 2015] that was published in the British Journal of dermatologists look at the links between various factors and perceived facial age, specifically, they looked at skin going red in the sun, sun bed use, wearing false teeth, not flossing between teeth, few remaining teeth, body mass index (BMI) and irregular skin moisturisation.
The research consisted of data from two cross-sectional studies of 318 Dutch men and 329 women aged between 45 and 75, they also studied 162 Englishwomen in the same age range.
Results for men
In Dutch men, smoking, having skin that went red in the sun, being outside in the sun most of the summer, sunbed use, wearing false teeth and not flossing were all significantly associated with a total of 9.3 years higher perceived facial age.
Results for women
In Dutch women, smoking, sunbathing, sunbed use, few remaining teeth and a low body mass index (BMI) were associated with a total of 10.9 years higher perceived facial age.
In English women, cleaning teeth only once a day, wearing false teeth, irregular skin moisturisation and having skin that went red in the sun were associated with a total 9.1 years higher perceived facial age.
Interestingly, smoking and sunbed use were associated more strongly with aging in women than in men.
Although associative in nature the results of this study support the notion that lifestyle factors can have long-term beneficial effects on your youthful looks.
What can you do to lower your perceived facial age?
The first thing to consider is how you can prevent your face from prematurely ageing.
Prevention
It would seem from the studies that regular skincare in both the forms of avoiding excessive sun and regularly using moisturiser is a good place to start.
The other thing that the study mentions this looking after your teeth. it certainly seems that for men, wearing false teeth and not flossing are significantly associated with higher perceived facial age.
With women, cleaning teeth only once a day and wearing false teeth increases perceived age, therefore looking after your teeth by cleaning them adequately is a pre-requisite for keeping them healthy for life.
Restoration
Unfortunately, things don’t always go to plan, here are a few ways you may be able to restore your perceived facial age.
- If you are missing tooth and want to replace them, consider dental bridges or dental implants.
- If you have false teeth then consider dental implants as a viable alternative.
- If you have excessive winkles and/or lines then consider anti-wrinkle injections or fillers.
Senova Dental Studios in Watford have experience in restoring the signs of facial ageing using a combination of dentistry and facial rejuvenation techniques.
Book your appointment today.
References
Gunn DA, Dick, van Heemst et al ‘Lifestyle and youthful looks’. D Br J Dermatol. 2015;172(5):1338-45. doi: 10.1111/bjd.13646. Epub 2015 Apr 15.
A graduate of the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Dental school, Dr Padayachy has been a dentist at the award winning Senova Dental Studios in Watford since 1998 focusing on comprehensive restorative and cosmetic dentistry.
Jay has previously been the president of The London Dental Fellowship.
He has been a member of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry since its inception and serves on the Credentialing committee. Jay has lectured widely on all aspects of cosmetic dentistry, dental photography and comprehensive care.
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