THROUGHOUT life the lips, the buccal mucous membranes, and the tongue are subject to constant movement, friction, and irritation. These tissues must therefore possess elasticity. Unfortunately, their elasticity varies with age; thus their ability to compensate for injuries and distortion varies in proportion, and as aging progresses, this ability diminishes. Insults to tissues are better tolerated in childhood, but as a person becomes older, even slight insults, if long continued, produce unwanted reactions.
The hard structures of the mouth undergo constant changes which shape the bite, the dentition, the lips, and the septum of the nose and affect swallowing, drainage of the ear canals, the facies, and ultimately the person's future. For example, the facial contours of Andy Gump or of Granny Cringe focus our attention in the comic strip, as did W. C. Fields's rhinophymatous nose in the movies.
In brief review, some of the pathological changes observed