Changes to facial features

[JillD]

I keep hoping I will look like Robert Redford when this is all over but apparently that is not going to happen according to my ortho. What a rip-off

You mean Robert Redford when he was young, right? I don't find the current Redford handsome at all.

[djspeece]

I keep hoping I will look like Robert Redford when this is all over but apparently that is not going to happen according to my ortho. What a rip-off

You mean Robert Redford when he was young, right? I don't find the current Redford handsome at all.

Oh yeah. Like in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

[Aerynia]

I think my cheekbones have become more defined - mycheek fullness used to sit lower down in my face but now it's higher up. I also don't have big creases running from the corners of my mouth down to my chin like I used to when I smiled - they've flattened out and now my smile lines look like < > coming out from the corners of my mouth, which looks much better!

However I do have molar buildups because I had a deep bite - so these may be lengthening my face and contributing to the high cheekbone look.

[rhibee83]

A friend who used to work at my work came in yesterday for a visit with someone else and asked me if i had lost weight as my face looked thinner!! I said "nope i have infact gain weight but maybe the braces are making it look thinner".

I will take that compliment any day!

[seeker304]

I haven't seen any changes but it's only been 6 weeks so far.

[fosterp]

Some people's faces will definitely change depending on how much your teeth are going to move.

Correcting overjet will improve your side profile. Correction of overbites will provide length to the face. Widening of the arches will likely give the effect of more pronounced cheekbones (though this is mostly an illusion as the changes in the tissue below the cheeks). Correcting your midline will likely make your face appear more symmetrical. Correcting retroclined/proclined incisors, especially the top ones, will likely produce a more attractive lip/mouth posture.

You probably won't see much change if you are only wearing braces for minor cosmetic changes such as crowding.

Probably the quickest/common change that produces a substantial change in the face is correcting the position of the upper canines as they provide the lip support that affects both your side profile and appearance of lips from the front.

[Candyland]

I think its interesting to see that most are very happy with the facial changes they have noticed. I have not been happy at all with the way my face is changing. I just had my upper first bicuspids extracted 3 weeks ago and I now have elastics to pull my upper teeth back. I have only had the elastics 2 days now and my mouth looks like it is in a permanent frown. I have also noticed that my upper lip is "shrinking". I assume this is due to my teeth moving back. My husband has also noticed the changes so I know it isn't all in my head. I hope this is something I will get used to.