People notice this on you and cannot name what they are seeing.

They see someone looking older around the mouth and read it as skin. It is very often teeth — worn down a fraction of a millimetre a year for thirty years until the whole lower third of the face sits closer together.

What happens

A fraction of a millimetre a year

Wear is slow enough that nobody catches it happening

Enamel wears. Grinding accelerates it. Acid erosion accelerates it further. None of it happens fast enough to notice — which is exactly the problem, because by the time someone looks at old photographs and wonders what changed, thirty years of it has accumulated.

As the back teeth lose height, the jaw closes further before the teeth meet. The chin comes closer to the nose. The lower face compresses. The lines running from the nose to the corners of the mouth deepen, and the corners of the mouth turn down, because there is less structure holding everything at the height it was built for.

The front teeth get shorter and start to look worn and squared off. People often arrive asking about veneers for exactly that — and on some of them, veneers alone would be treating a symptom while leaving the cause in place.

Signs

What patients tend to notice first

None of these on its own means your bite has closed down. Together they are worth an evaluation.

  • Front teeth that look shorter, squarer or more worn than they used to
  • Flat, polished areas on the biting surfaces of the back teeth
  • A lower face that looks compressed compared to old photographs
  • Deepening lines from the nose to the corners of the mouth
  • Corners of the mouth that turn down, sometimes with irritation there
  • A history of grinding or clenching, treated or not
  • Chipping along the edges of the front teeth
  • Teeth that feel like they meet differently than they did years ago

Results

The whole face, not just the teeth

This is the difference between this treatment and every other cosmetic option on this site.

Before

After · Bite height restored

Some people call it a mini facelift through dentistry. It is not a facelift — nothing is done to skin or soft tissue. What changes is the scaffolding underneath, and the soft tissue follows it.

Treatment, not a material

How it is actually built

This is a category of treatment, not a product you pick

Depending on the case we use e.max, LiSi, feldspathic porcelain, zirconia, or a combination of them. The material follows what each tooth needs to do — the back teeth carrying load want strength, the front teeth want light behaviour.

It typically involves both arches, because you cannot change the height on one and leave the other where it was. That is why this is the most involved work we do, and why it is priced the way it is.

Back teeth carrying the load

Zirconia or e.max, chosen for strength

Front teeth that show

e.max, LiSi or feldspathic, chosen for appearance

Most cases

A combination across the arch

How it goes

Nothing about this is rushed

Changing where your jaw closes is a significant thing to do to a person. It is done deliberately and it is tested before it is made permanent.

01

Records and planning

Photographs, models, bite records and imaging establish where your bite sits now and where it should sit. This is the part that determines whether the result works — a case planned badly does not get rescued by good ceramics.

02

Test the new height

Before anything permanent, you live with the proposed height in a provisional form. You eat with it, speak with it, and see it in photographs. If it is not right, it changes here — not after the porcelain has been made.

03

Build it in porcelain

Once the height is confirmed as one you can live in comfortably, the final restorations are made and seated. A nightguard usually follows, because whatever wore your teeth down the first time has not gone anywhere.

Candidacy

Is this you?

Often a good fit

  • Significant wear across many teeth
  • A lower face that has visibly compressed
  • Front teeth worn short and square
  • A long grinding history
  • Multiple teeth already needing restoration anyway
  • Willing to wear a nightguard afterward

Something smaller may be right

  • Wear limited to one or two teeth
  • The concern is shade rather than shape
  • Active gum disease, to be treated first
  • Not prepared for treatment across both arches
  • Unwilling to wear a nightguard

If wear is mild and localised, we will tell you so — no-prep veneers or bonding may give you most of what you want at a fraction of the investment.

Pricing

Real numbers, before you call.

Opening vertical dimension

Rebuilding the height your bite has lost over the years, closer to where it likely sat when you were much younger. This is typically the most involved work we do, and it changes the lower face, not just the teeth.

This is a type of treatment rather than a material. Depending on the case we use e.max, LiSi, feldspathic, zirconia, or a combination of them.

Most cases involve both arches. Your exact figure is confirmed in writing at your consult, before anything begins.

$2,000Per tooth

Dental insurance does not pay for aesthetic treatment. Where treatment is genuinely restoring function rather than appearance, some portion may be covered — we will check your plan and tell you honestly which parts fall where.

Questions

Before you book

Will my bite feel strange afterward?

There is an adjustment period, which is precisely why we test the new height in a provisional form before anything permanent is made. You will have lived in it and eaten in it before we commit. If it does not feel right at that stage, we change it.

Is this really like a facelift?

No, and we would rather not oversell it. Nothing is done to skin or soft tissue. What changes is the structure underneath, and the soft tissue sits differently as a result. The phrase gets used because the effect on the lower face surprises people — not because it is a substitute for cosmetic surgery.

Do I have to do the whole mouth?

Generally both arches, yes, because you cannot alter where the jaw closes on one side of the bite and leave the other where it was. The number of teeth involved varies with the case, and you will see exactly which ones in the plan.

Will it wear down again?

If whatever caused the wear continues unchecked, it can. That is why a night guard is part of this treatment rather than an optional extra — grinding is the main enemy, and protecting the work is what makes it last. If you will not wear one, tell us at the consult and we will factor that into what we recommend.

How long does the whole thing take?

Longer than any other treatment here, and deliberately so. Records, planning, a provisional stage you live in for a while, then the final work. We will give you a realistic timeline at the consult rather than a flattering one.

Where exactly are you?

2072 E Southern Ave A103, Tempe, AZ 85282. Two other dental offices share this building — Suites A101 and A102 — so look specifically for A103.

For general information beyond what's here: MouthHealthy.org (American Dental Association), and the Arizona State Board of Dental Examiners, where you can verify any dentist's license.

Book

Bring an old photograph.

It is often the fastest way to see how much height your bite has lost — and whether this is what you have been noticing.