Bone Resorption
Bone loss due to the aging process is referred to as bone resorption. Over time, some of the bone structures that change on our face are the ones around the eyes, the mid-face, chin and the jawline. Bone resorption means the skin, fat pad and muscles don’t have the support structure they once had and can result in a sunken and sagging skin appearance.
When young, the bone structures around our eyes are often round. When we age, the bone structures around the eyes (known as the orbital aperture) widen and lengthen. This causes lack of support for the skin and fat pads in the peri-orbital areas.
Bone resorption also occurs in the mid-face. Next to the nose – a triangular area called the piriform fossa (or piriform space) starts to regress backwards when we age. Bone regression at the piriform space becomes larger, due to maxillary recession. Bone resorption is the only type of ‘volume’ loss in the nasolabial fold area, as the skin has lost its boney support structure.
On the lower face, the chin regresses backwards and the jaw’s height and length decrease. When we are young, the angle of the jaw (known as the gonial angle) often appears in the shape of an “L”, and over time starts to turn into an italic ‘i’ shape (/), when it loses its angle. These bone changes happen in both male and female people. Studies have shown jawbone resorption occurs earlier in young-to-middle aged females compared to men at a middle-to-older age.
