Faces are flat as a result of a lack of sufficient forward projection of the bones of the mid cheek. There are 2 bones here, the outer bone is the zygoma and the inner cheek bone is the maxilla. It is the projection of the zygoma that is the cause of the problem. This bone doesn’t change with age, but the maxilla progressively shrinks and this shrinkage is first apparent in your twenties. This shrinkage is the reason why flat cheeks are not an issue in the teen years, but become so in the twenties and significantly more so in the thirties. The muscles of the cheek and the supporting ligaments of the cheek attach to the bone. If the cheeks do not project there is not good support provided by the cheek bones and this leads to the early development of laxity of the ligaments that support the soft tissues. With laxity and poor bony support the cheek soft tissues descend. This is what causes heaviness of the nasolabial folds. The decision on how to treat this is straightforward. The underedeveloped bone, the zygoma needs to be permanently enlarged to a size that is normal and a shape that is attractive. Importantly, this is achieved using an implant that functions like bone. Soft tissue fillers and fat injections, while convenient, are just not sufficient for this structural function.Paranasal implants add fullness to the inner cheek, maxilla. However correction of the maxilla alone is insufficient correction for this type of cheek flatness. The zygoma also must be corrected.There are only 2 types of material to consider for this life long correction; prefabricated porex (polyethylene) implants or coral (hydroxyapatite) granules. When you want natural, I would definitely use the coral. It is purified coral from the South Pacific and consists only of pure mineral, calcium triphosphate, the same as human bone. Significantly the surgeon shapes the granules to the desired shape to correct your individual situation. Then over time your own bone grows into the implant, so effectively, you end up with your own bone as the implant. This is the only natural implant. There is not reaction from the body or rejection. In addition, because the cheek soft tissues have descended, they must be elevated with a cheek lift at the same time. It does not look correct placing an implant after the cheek tissues have dropped. Mid cheek lift with hydroxyapatite augmentation is a most effective procedure and rarely needs to be repeated. People don’t detect that you have had a cheek augmentation. All they notice is that now you look healthy and well. Any suggestion of dullness on your face has gone and apple like cheeks remain.You would need to look around to find an experienced plastic surgeon who performs this surgery as not many surgeons have significant experience with porex implants and fewer with coral.