THINNING of face during braces

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#31 Post by **Whitters** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 1:07 pm

I've noticed that my face is a lot thinner too..and I don't like it --my cute cheeks are like practically gone. I'm 18mths into treatment and I noticed it from month #6-7. I hope it returns to normal when my braces are off...

Mon Dec 01, 2008 12:01 am

I think i'm suffering from the same problem. Apparently I have lost some weight from the braces but I've been at this weight before and my face hasn't looked as thin as it does now. Fortunately I like how I look now. Maybe it's just the fact that i'm 19 and still growing which I doubt but I seem to be the only one who has noticed my thinning face anyway. lol

Sat Dec 06, 2008 10:01 am

I will vouch for this subject and say that I too had a thinned out face during the first phase of my treatment.

It was noticeable and people did comment on it (not in a negative or nasty way, they just noticed that my cheeks were starting to look a little sunken in, which they were) However, I had my top 6 brackets taken off during the summer for two week for a vacation/wedding and let me tell you, my face filled back out considerably, so I don't worry that a thinned out face is something that's going to remain after the braces come off for good.

It's funny though, even when I got the braces back on, I don't feel it went back to that thinned-out look I had in the beginning.

#34 Post by **Spanner** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 4:42 am

I'm 14 months into treatment and my face "appears" much thinner and longer.

This is partly due to molar buildups and partly due to my top teeth protruding more at the moment which means I'm having to strain a bit to close my lips so this inturn makes my cheeks suck in.

I'm assured by my ortho that this is a temporary thing and that once my treatment is finished and the braces are off my face shape will more or less return to how it was before.

I hope he's right as I hate the way I look at present.

#35 Post by **Rachel B** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 5:02 am

My face definitely looks thinner too, with my cheek bones more prominent. It doesn't really bother me but I honestly think it's because of the braces pushing the bottom half of my face out. I think the sunken cheek thing is just that usual "brace" face.

#36 Post by **marycotter5678** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:57 am

This is a scary post... so many people having the same issues. I have an underbite and my face is very thin and long as it is so I reallllly hope this doesn't happen to me.
I id notice that most of you did not say if you were fixing and overbite underbite, etc... I think if you're fixing and overbite then they have to try and bring your jaw/teeth forward and top backward so that can definetly make the face thinner.
For people with an underbite, I would assume it has the opposite effect -- if people with an underbite are experiencing thinner face then I dunno I think it's really odd....

#37 Post by **classII** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 9:22 am

While it is true that extractions can collapse lip support if the orthodonist is not careful in his measurements, there is an equally important vertical dimension to having a correct bite. Off hand I think it's the distance between your chin and under your nose. If you have an over bite for example your teeth (and mouth) close like

\
/

once the bite is corrected the plane would be like

_
_

So the distance from under your nose to your chin increase fractionally 1 or 2 mm or whatever. But with corrected bite that is what happens (and what it would be if you never had a problem in the first place).

So some who think their face is now longer and drawn out are in fact seeing how they would have originally looked if there were never a problem. It's just that you were used to seeing your face with in it's non-correct position all this time. This is not a fault of the orthodontics at all. It's how you would have looked from day one

the correct you.

Also one of the key aspects to have orthodontics as a child, so you don't go through this suprise stage when your being reverts to your original state.

#38 Post by **kittenmaisey** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 2:58 am

Good post Class 11. Maybe this is where our jaws are supposed to be, and it just comes as a bit of a shock, during and following treatment.
As someone who has as yet not taken the leap back into brace world.

I hope that when i finally do take the leap, my mouth shape wont resemble the non existent hole that now sits beneath my nose!!
My teeth need to come forward, to support lips, so not sure what that would do to my face shape.

I have that caved appearance due to several tooth extractions in my teens

#39 Post by **teewoods** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 9:10 am

wow thank God i saw this post! I just recently shaved my hair and noticed i lokked really different my cheekbones were so prominenet! I hate cheek bones so I was wonder what happened to my face. Does the face revert pack to the way it looked originally? I cant deal with cheekbones!

#40 Post by **Sleclerc** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 9:45 am

I had the oppoisite effect. My face is naturally long and thin. My face has gotten rounder and fuller? I have yet to get my rpe device which is coming next. No extractions etc.

#41 Post by **sisi** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 11:22 am

Hi - I am getting braces next week but the intention is to widen the arches and correct a cross-bite and overbite. I won't be having any extractions. I am concerned that my mouth will recede and my cheeks will get fuller. I don't mind the fuller cheeks part as I have sunken cheeks due to weight loss. But I kind of like my prominent mouth. It is scary to think that that the face you have been looking at in the mirror all your life may change.

#42 Post by **KLOU117** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 4:12 pm

Spanner wrote:I'm 14 months into treatment and my face "appears" much thinner and longer.

This is partly due to molar buildups and partly due to my top teeth protruding more at the moment which means I'm having to strain a bit to close my lips so this inturn makes my cheeks suck in.

I'm assured by my ortho that this is a temporary thing and that once my treatment is finished and the braces are off my face shape will more or less return to how it was before.

I hope he's right as I hate the way I look at present.

Can someone explain to me what molar builups are? I've heard the term but I don't know anymore than that. I'm a bit worried still, I liked how I looked before braces. Who knows if that's just losing a bit of the fat around my face due to growing up though.

#43 Post by **classII** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:18 pm

They're nothing. They're globs of glue to keep your teeth apart while your bite gets repositioned. If you have a deep bit for example, where your top teeth totally cover / over lap your bottom teeth, it is not possible to put bottom braces on because the will touch each other. A molar build up, is glue on your molars so that when you bite down you cannot bite "all" the way down and touch the bottom braces.

KLOU117 wrote:[
Can someone explain to me what molar builups are? I've heard the term but I don't know anymore than that. I'm a bit worried still, I liked how I looked before braces. Who knows if that's just losing a bit of the fat around my face due to growing up though.

#44 Post by **judithsage** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:24 pm

teewoods wrote:wow thank God i saw this post! I just recently shaved my hair and noticed i lokked really different my cheekbones were so prominenet! I hate cheek bones so I was wonder what happened to my face. Does the face revert pack to the way it looked originally? I cant deal with cheekbones!

I just got my braces off in Dec 2008--I orginally got them because of severe bruxism-- not for appearances. Prior to braces I had a very pointed chin, pointed nose and underbite (which made for great grinding!) I was thin to start--5'3 112 pounds. Now I am 108 pounds and wore the braces 15 months. I HATE MY FACE NOW post removal. My cheekbones are so narrow and high, I have laugh lines around my mouth that are very deep and my face is very elongated. My chin is not as pointed b/c the bite is corrected(earlier poster had a great explanation of alignment of nose and chin). Dont get me wrong here folks, I was NO model by any stretch of the matter-- but now I just cry when I see a picture of my old self. I look so old and ugly and people have made comments that lead me to believe I am not IMAGING THIS! Someone actually thought I was "sick"---hello!! Like seriously sick. Sorry I am ranting but I am just so sick about my appearance, I would have never guessed this would have been the result. Never.....

#45 Post by **zmossy** » Thu Mar 26, 2009 6:54 am

I have brace for 5 months with 4 teeth extracted (crowded teeth). My face looks much thinner than before although I'm not losing weight. It makes me look so old and sad...

, so worried about my situation! Could any one who already brace off and have the same case with me share your experience? Do your face change and thinner than before or just come back to normal? Thanks in advance.

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THINNING of face during braces

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