Alterações clínicas da face e do sorriso decorrentes do envelhecimento: revisão de literatura

Abstract

The aging process is a continuous physiological phenomenon that can be classified into primary aging, which occurs inherent to time, and secondary aging, which depends on factors such as bad habits, chronic sun exposure or some systemic diseases. This process leads to morphofunctional changes in facial structures such as muscles, skin, bones, fat compartments, which undergo reabsorption and collagen loss, as well as influence the smile, from changes in dimensions and reduced exposure of dental elements. In order to be able to analyze the aesthetics of a patient's smile, individualized characteristics must be taken into account, in addition to socioeconomic, cultural, racial, ethnic and genetic factors. With the increase in life expectancy, the search for aesthetic treatments has grown considerably. With that, the objective of this work was to analyze physiological and pathological alterations of the face and smile, resulting from the aging process, contributing to the deepening of knowledge in clinical dental practice. It consists of a descriptive literature review with a qualitative approach about the clinical changes resulting from the aging of the smile and face. Constructed from the scientific bases: PubMed/Medline, Scielo, BVS (Virtual Health Library) and Google Scholar, respecting the publication period of the last ten years, and that they were written in the languages: Portuguese and English, from the descriptors “Smile”, “Aging”, “Rejuvenation”, “Dental Aesthetics” and “Anatomy”. Thus, the present study contributed to describe the anatomical changes resulting from the aging process, facilitating the knowledge of professionals who work in these structures.