Did your face shape change after braces?

[Datdude]

I'm thinking about getting braces, but i'm wondering if it does change your face shape, your jawline? Make your nose look bigger/smaller?.

I hope it doesn't.

[musiclady2340]

My friends tell me they have noticed a change in my facial structure. Mostly in my jaw line. It looks more squarish, fuller. No change in anything else.

This makes sense to me as one of the main reasons I went for braces was to help some jaw issues.

[~KMG~]

I constantly get comments about face looking thinner and my cheekbones being more prominent. As a girl with a former "full" face, I consider these to be compliments! When I compare my pre and post braces pics, there is definitely a difference, which is pleasing to me.

[catgyrl]

In the beginning of this process, I would've answered your question with a resounding "Nah!" But just for kicks, I took comparison pics between the pic that my ortho took at my consultation, and a pic I took yesterday. (I apologize for the poor quality of the picture on the left. He never sent me an actual picture. It's part of a .pdf document that I had to pull up on my computer, and then take a pic of the screen, so there are weird lines on it.) I definitely see a difference - my cheekbones are more prominent, and everything from the nose-down looks less "scrunched up". The space between the tip of my nose to the cupid's bow of my upper lip is bigger (since my teeth have been pushed back). I even almost have a chin! (Almost...) You may notice that the left side of my upper lip (right in the pic) is thinner than the other side. I had originally attributed that to my upper teeth being shoved over to the right due to my prior thumbsucking habit. But now most of the teeth have been moved back over, and it's still thin. So, I guess I just have a naturally lopsided upper lip. LOL! Oh well... that's what lipliner is for.



I must say... I absolutely HAAAAATE non-smiling pictures! They look like mugshots, to me. There is nothing I can do to make them look "friendlier". However, I want to add that I am VERY pleased with this unexpected benefit.

-Cathy

[Rach44]

I've had braces almost 4 months and I've already noticed some change to my face. My cheek bones are VERY prominent (I already had slightly prominent cheek bones, but it's much more noticeable now). I also have noticed slight changes in my jaw line. I am anticipating a lot more changes to come once correction of my bite starts to occur. It has already changed a bit due to my bite blockers. I'm actually pleased with the changes and probably will be more so once my entire treatment is complete.

Cathy - your changes so far look AMAZING.

[catgyrl]

Thank you so much, Rachel! I'm just hoping any further changes are for the BETTER!

[Ravioli]

I had extraction orthodontics as a teenager and my face was damaged. It became thinner, my upper lip is slanted inwards, my jaw was forced further back than it already was. I got creases around my nose and mouth and it looks like my upper lip is a excess piece of skin. And my overbite remained. I look really funny when I chew.
My friend on the other hand had Damon braces and her face became wider, her upper lip looked fuller and better, her smile is gorgeous! (Wheras I look like I don't have any teeth.) So I'd say it depends completely on the method being used.

[Emmauk]

Catgryl

I have to say your differences are amazing, although i have to ask have you lost any weight since your consultation because obviously that would also affect shape?

x

[catgyrl]

Catgryl

I have to say your differences are amazing, although i have to ask have you lost any weight since your consultation because obviously that would also affect shape?

x

Hi Emma!

I've lost not...one...freakin'...OUNCE!!! I am exactly the same weight I was a year ago. The first month or so I had lost a few pounds (like, literally, 3 or 4), but once I figured out how to eat, I gained it all back quickly. My teeth were, apparently REALLY "bucky" before my braces, as I look back on old pictures.

-Cathy

[eveiga]

I just had my bicuspids removed on Friday and I can already tell there's a difference in my face. Its not very drastic but you can tell. My front teeth used to be a lot higher and (as weird as this sounds) I had a huge gap in between my top and bottom teeth that was so big, half of my tongue could go through it with no effort. Now my upper lip doesn't stick out as much and the gap has already started to close. Like I said the difference isn't very drastic but when I open my mouth you can tell there's a difference!

[CountessDeSangre]

I had extraction orthodontics as a teenager and my face was damaged. It became thinner, my upper lip is slanted inwards, my jaw was forced further back than it already was. I got creases around my nose and mouth and it looks like my upper lip is a excess piece of skin. And my overbite remained. I look really funny when I chew.
My friend on the other hand had Damon braces and her face became wider, her upper lip looked fuller and better, her smile is gorgeous! (Wheras I look like I don't have any teeth.) So I'd say it depends completely on the method being used.

That's TERRIBLE! Is there anyway it can be fixed?

[kennyandrew85]

There is a good reason a lot of people come on this board asking this question: Damon has filled youtube and web pages with scare tactics of face deformation and missing chins so everyone goes into their orthodontist and asks for Damon braces, which results in more $$$ for them.

It's also a common tactic of companies marketing departments to sign up to busy message boards and create pretend scenarios up. "Hi, my name is bill and until now i couldn't get muscle, until i bought this amazing protein shake" and so on...

My ortho does both damon and traditional braces and said extractions are sometimes required no matter what method you're using.

If you require extractions due to a small mouth and don't get them, there's the chance of pushing your teeth too far out of the arch that they could tip over or even fall out. Get a few different opinions from orthodontists and ignore most of the rubbish you read online.

[Crazy4Snow]

Yes, it changes many things...including your lips...my lips were okay before but now they look like I'm "pouting" them when I'm really not. It's not the braces doing it either because my lips weren't like this when I first got them on...I didn't notice it until I noticed all my front teeth moving outward and rounding.

I actually addressed this very thing (with pictures) on my blog a couple of weeks ago. Hey, I'm totally fine with a plumper pout

[athec]

Regarding noses: YES, the appearance of your nose can change as well. Pre-braces, I had a severe overbite, but on the plus side my nose looked fine. The orthodontists then fixed the overbite with braces, and when the braces came off I realized that, now that my teeth were further back, my nose seemed to protrude more. It really does look like a giant nose on a tiny face. It's been three years since braces and I've hated my nose ever since. In retrospect, I feel like I should have said, "HOLD ON A MOMENT. I'd much rather have my jaw moved forward than have my teeth moved back." It's too late now, though, so sit down and have a nice long chat with your orthodontist about the possibility of your face changing. (The good news is, I don't look like a beaver now.)

[QueenElizabeth]

Whoa, whoa! Wait a minute!!
I have a small mouth and I feel as I'm really "toothy". I still have 3 of my wisdom teeth, with that said the ortho recommended 4 more teeth (not sure what they're called 2 on top, 2 on the bottom) to be pulled out. Should I be worried? I know that the wisdom teeth need to come out (they said at the 6 months mark), but now I'm thinking that I should probably keep the other ones. As of now, I have pouty lips (a curse and a gift I guess) what's going to happen? What can happen? Am I going to look like James William Bottomtooth III from Family Guy?!!

Sincerely,
Freaking out!