The Case of the Disappearing Dimples

Hey Matt:

You answered a question once about what dimples are. I have dimples I my cheeks, and my fried said they could disappear. I don't think that's possible, but I was honestly wondering. I'm already a teen so I didn't think that I would "grow out of them." But I read somewhere that dimples can disappear from wear. Is this true?

-- Dimples, the net

Golly! You can smile so much that you wear out your dimples? How sad. Dimples are formed by atypical connections between your cheeks and the underlying muscles, so when you flex that muscle to smile, the skin is pulled in at the point of attachment. As you lose the facial fat of youth and your face muscles slacken, your dimples become less pronounced, but they probably won't disappear completely. They'll just be harder to find in all those wrinkles