Metal Mouth Message Board

Hmmm...I wonder if that's happening to me. My students have commented that since I have had braces I seem happier and smile more. I have noted that my jaw doesn't look so gaunt or vacant.

Mike

I think this is going to happen to me too----I have a narrow arch so when I smile, you can see on each side of my teeth back into my mouth (I know I am explaining that weird). My smile is wider than my teeth so to speak.

I have my dad's lips though (Angelina's got nothing on me) so I think my mouth is giong to look great---but it is strange to think of it being different and that I will look different beyond having straight teeth.

I would love to look "happier".

Yup, that happened to me too. At first it always seemed like my top lip was getting stuck on top of the last bracket on each side of my top teeth and that my mouth would freeze open in this wide expression. As i got more used to them i guess it doesn't happen so much anymore.

Yeah! That's happening to me, too. xD
I'm noticing that I can't half-smile anymore. It's either no smile or wide smile. It's strange...

ditto. it's got to be a wide, full smile, or i'd look constipated!
a coworker told me that i've got "more lips" now. and a lot of people have asked if i lsot weight (haven't, still weigh the same), so must be the braces changing my facial structure?? is that possible??

I just wanted to say.... great post!!!

I always get the "Why do you look so grumpy" from complete strangers... maybe after I get braces and i'm not hiding my teeth.. this will change!!

What I find amazing is some people are terribly concerned their face will change during the process. Most of us WANT our teeth to change. If that is so, why the big concern of our face changing?

In my case almost any change would be a positive.

Mike

Interesting...I feel like my smile isn't as wide as it used to be. I used to have this really big wide smile. I got 4 teeth extracted. Maybe those 4 teeth pushed against my lips and caused a huge smile. I feel like my smile used to curve more upwards, and now it's just straight. across. Almost like to though probably not that dramatic.

Anyone feel like they have to kind relearn how to smile?

Me too! Strangers will say, "Smile, it can't be that bad." and I'm not upset over anything.

Of course then I want to punch them so I look mad afterwards for sure.

A kindler, gentler, straighter teeth, happier, Brunoise??? Oh geez.

EramusBraces wrote:Yeah! That's happening to me, too. xD
I'm noticing that I can't half-smile anymore. It's either no smile or wide smile. It's strange...

YES I wonder why too, thats weird.

iBorg wrote:What I find amazing is some people are terribly concerned their face will change during the process. Most of us WANT our teeth to change. If that is so, why the big concern of our face changing?

In my case almost any change would be a positive.

Mike

sometimes it may be negative.. why? it has to do with facial aesthetics...

because when I get braces i just want the tiniest change to my overall appearance. i only expect changes on the tidiness of my teeth, but not my face! it is something unexpected! thats why it might not be very good for some people..

whether or not i look good originally, it still takes time to get used to the way i look every morning i look into the mirror.. because that doesn't look really like me..

You mean I am not the only one who constantly gets told to "smile!!"? I have had so many people tell me that I look grumpy that I considered having the corners of my mouth surgically lifted, just to look happy already! Nothing quite like being in a perfectly good mood and having someone tell you to cheer up!

That would be so cool if braces could fix that or at least improve it...what great news!

Denise wrote:I figured my face would look fuller with braces but I have gotten the same weight loss comments. If I did lose it, I can't imagine where from???

I got the weight loss comment too! Originally, I thought it was my tan that made me appear thinner, as my clothes all fit the same way. But I am still getting the same comments a month later, and the BF thinks that the braces kind of stretches my face out a little, giving the illusion of my face being longer, there for thinner.

My comment to those who keep asking me how I "lost the weight:" get braces!

I think part of the "bigger smile" for me is I have to get up above the brackets or my lips stick to them! Therefore, my smile is much wider and a friend said "now I can see your teeth"! I think those of us with a narrow arches notice a big difference early on as the teeth move forward into more of a u shape. I currently have a gap on one side which I wish would close soon but seem soooo stubborn.