If you are unhappy with the impact of aging on your appearance, you might be considering a facelift. But there are many different kinds of facelifts. Here are some of the more common ones offered, including their benefits and drawbacks.
Liquid Facelift
The liquid facelift is a form of noninvasive rejuvenation that attempts to rejuvenate your appearance using injectable treatments, such as fillers and BOTOX ®.
The benefit of this approach is that it is noninvasive. It doesn’t require surgery, and it can be completed in an hour or so. The disadvantage of this approach is that the results are limited and temporary. If you want to maintain results, you may need to be retreated every 3-6 months.
Jawline Rejuvenation
This procedure is focused on trying to revitalize the appearance of your jaw and neck. Liposuction is used to remove fat from the neck to try to help improve the appearance of the jawline. Sometimes, fat is injected back into the cheek to try to restore lost facial volume.
Traditional Facelift
In a traditional facelift, incisions are made around the ear, sometimes on the chin, and sometimes inside the mouth. These are used to remove “excess” tissue, including skin, then pull the remaining tissue taut.
This procedure is good at elevating and tightening the facial structure, but this may not always result in actual rejuvenation of the face. Instead, it can distort the facial appearance. In addition, the long recovery time and high risk of complications makes even plastic surgeons leery of getting this procedure.
Mini Facelift
A mini facelift is similar to a traditional facelift, but it uses smaller incisions, does less lifting, and removes less “excess” tissue.
This procedure gives less dramatic results than a traditional facelift. This does mean that you are less likely to end up with a stretched appearance, but it’s still possible. In addition, although the risks are reduced, there is still a relatively high rate of complications linked to this type of facelift.
Midface Lift
The midface lift focuses on changes that occur in the cheeks. One common problem is that cheek fat pads can begin to sink down under the influence of gravity. The midface lift can elevate the fat pads again, as well as remove some excess tissue from the area.
The midface lift can give good results if your cheek fat pads have actually descended. But for many people the problem is actually that the jaw has come up to meet them (more on this later). If that’s the case, the midface lift is more likely to distort the facial appearance than it is to give natural rejuvenation. In addition, this procedure still has a high risk of complications.
Cutaneous Lift
The cutaneous lift tries to do all the same things as the traditional facelift, but it tries to achieve this with only the skin as support for the lifting.
The cutaneous lift has a shorter recovery time, less discomfort, and an overall lower risk of complications. However, it is limited in the amount of rejuvenation it can achieve, and there’s a risk that the skin won’t be able to provide the required support, which can cause it to come apart, usually at the incisions. Even without complications, results are short-lived.
Thread Lift
A thread lift is an attempt to achieve lifting with a less surgical procedure. Instead of having your facial structures support themselves, a barbed thread is sewn into your face. Then your surgeon will pull on the thread, causing the barbs to catch in your flesh, so it can pull up the tissue. Although this is designed to be less invasive, it turns out that it’s actually a very painful procedure. Plus, results are limited, and complications are common.
Nonsurgical Facelift
In our nonsurgical facelift, we use dental procedures to rejuvenate your facial appearance. One of the key insights that plastic surgeons miss is that it isn’t just your skin stretching and structures descending because of gravity. The loss of volume in your teeth and bones causes your face’s support structure to shrink. Until you restore lost volume, you don’t know how much skin might be extra or how much structures have actually descended. There is a serious risk of overcutting or poorly positioning features after surgery–that’s what leads to people having distorted appearances after a facelift.
A new facelift provides great results for your lower face and chin, firming the jawline and reducing facial folds and wrinkles. At the same time, repairs of your teeth can give you a more youthful smile.
Although benefits beyond the lower third of the face are less, they can extend up to the eyes. Our experience with this procedure gives us good insight into how much rejuvenation you might experience with our nonsurgical facelift.
Considering a Facelift in Savannah?
If you’re in Savannah and are considering a facelift, let us help. Our nonsurgical facelift procedure can dramatically restore your youthful appearance while maintaining the true individuality of your face.
To learn more about the benefits of a nonsurgical facelift, please call (912) 234-8282 today for an appointment with a cosmetic dentist at Beyond Exceptional Dentistry in Savannah.
