Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi everybody! I got my braces on March 2006 and am scheduled to get them off sometime before 2007 ends. However since i got my braces, my appearance has changed drastically; and not for the better. I have read other people here asking about changes on their chin and cheeks, but my braces seem to have changed me to the point were people barely recognize me. I lost 12lbs after getting my braces and my face seems to have ugly prominent cheekbones and a larger nose. Is this normal? Or am i just "maturing"? Can braces change your bone structure?

*took down pics to protect my identity...*

Well, firstly to say that from your first pic - your teeth didn't look too bad to start (however people have made this comment about my teeth when I had mine on!).

In answer to your question, I don't think your face shape has changed negatively - face shapes change as you get older anyway, and my ortho has told me that a change in your mouth can reflect a change in the way your face looks, however I would imagine that post ortho treatment, this is likely to be positive.

Hope that helps.

i don't see any difference based on your pictures, but weight loss can make your nose+cheekbones more dominant. The baby fat goes away faster... That happened to me when i lost some weight. Luckily after gaining the weight back I got more fat onto my face.

I do see a change, however like it was stated before as we get older we change.

If anything you are changing for the better since your teeth are going to be awesome. The scary thing is that you look like a girl I dated last summer. Are you her twin or something?

Hi. I really don't see a change. As stated above, any weight loss would affect your face. You still look very youthful and I'm sure once your braces are off you'll be so happy.

I don't really see a huge change. If you lose weight then it tends to show in your face and if your face has thinned out then your nose would automatically look larger.

Also being young, you probably still had "puppy fat" on your face before, your were probably always going to have well defined features.

Do you know some people would pay thousands on cosmetic surgery to have the definition in your face you do?

As you get older I think you will appreciate your more defined looks. Believe me!

My mother's tactic has been to be thing when young and then increase weight a little bit over the years. In that way face does not get thin so fast. It seems to have been worked. my mother is 60 and definiately does not look so old.

I don't see any difference either. Maybe it's (to your eye) different because the brackets do push our lips out a bit and fill the cheek area.

Once the braces are removed, that bulk will be gone and your face will return to it's pre-braced shape. Since your teeth don't have a long way to go, you won't see a difference in your face.

If you were having upper or lower palet expansion or had a huge overjet, it would change. NOthing that I see.

Very nice teeth!

You guys made me feel better, i guess it's kinda normal to feel uneasy during treatment. I just have received alot of "you didn't need them" comments that made me somewhat self-conscience. My mother HATES my braces; she was blessed with naturally straight teeth and thinks braces are ugly. and in response to M1k3y, i do have an older sister...she looks very similiar to me. We live in chicago though....

look forward to getting to know you wonderful people in the forum...now i must go floss....

19Braceface wrote:You guys made me feel better, i guess it's kinda normal to feel uneasy during treatment. I just have received alot of "you didn't need them" comments that made me somewhat self-conscience. My mother HATES my braces; she was blessed with naturally straight teeth and thinks braces are ugly. and in response to M1k3y, i do have an older sister...she looks very similiar to me. We live in chicago though....

look forward to getting to know you wonderful people in the forum...now i must go floss....

Gosh, you almost have exactly the same case as I do.... people always told me they dont understand why Iam getting braced in the first place!! In fact i just want to look better.. but right now i feel down because i dunno whats happening but my face definitely looks different!! (I'm 18 btw, been having braces for more than1 year, scheduled to be off around easter)

i HOPE its all gonna look good after they are off. to me i think my cheekbones look more prominent, mouth larger... wider nose... longer jaw? gosh i hate it

I do see a change in your pictures but i dont think its drastic.. i guess partly its due to maturing and also the presence of the braces inside your mouth.. but since I'm going through this "depressing" stage too i cant really see things objectively.....

There's some change but that may be more a function of losing weight than it is the braces. As for appearance, I think you're quite lovely. If I was single and twenty years younger, I'd be a pest.

Smile.... you've got a beautiful face and soon a fantastic smile.

Mike

Thats what i was saying its appearing to me as weight loss. I've looked at my pictures and my face is way thinner than what it was before. I'm not complaining though!! But i was only weighing in at 135 before anyway.

everyone around me chastised me for getting the braces but I know my flaws better than anyone else so I maybe going through this ugly betty stage, we'll all look much much better when the braces come off~

Orangetammy, i am relieved other people feel the same way, it seems like everyone here seems to love their braces and feel a great improvement on the way. I feel confused because i have always looked younger for my age and in just 6 months i went from looking 16 to 23.... . what stinks most is my friends all used to tell me how cute and pretty i was...now when they see me they say "you look different" and stay quiet. My mom says i look like an old woman now and have lost my "cuteness"... can't wait to get my braces off...my mom says it's my fault for being vain. *shakes fist*

but orangetammy let me know how you feel after your braces come off i would love to know!