Metal Mouth Message Board

Although I dislike my orthodontist , I love my Invisalign! One very unexpected reason is ... the treatment seems to be giving me a mini face lift!
Has anyone every noticed this before? Maybe it's the chewies that are exercising the muscles in my cheeks and jaw - but I swear my face is slimmer looking and less jowls. I am 50 years old.

The problem with my teeth before starting treatment was that my arches, top and bottom, were quite narrow, and the teeth sort of sloped inward toward my tongue.

My husband and mother can see the difference, and friends are saying things like "you look really great!" -

Has anyone heard of such a thing before? There is no point mentioning this to my orthodontist, as she never responds to any question or comment I make.

Screw her! I will get through these Aligners and be 10x more gorgeous!

Thanks Archwired members,
Tracy in PA

I've noticed in general that when older women (I'm 49) have been in braces (all kinds) a bit, or just got out of them, they look younger. Tighter of jaw, less of a double chin, a bit of lift to the cheek. I always thought it was a combination of a widening palate, and probably eating less because of the hassles associated with that. But you may have a point about the exercise of your mouth. You can see it in a lot of the full face "before and after" pictures in these forums. I haven't heard that officially, or seen it written anywhere before your post, but I think the results speak for themselves. If orthos would just advertise this, the people would come flocking to them!

It's official folks!

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/34/1728_88050

I have heard of this before and a simple google search will give you a bunch of info about it. I don't know if I look younger but my mouth I think looks better. My bite needed to open up so it makes sense that this would lengthen the space between my upper and lower jaw ironing out the wrinkles a bit!

Thanks for checking that out jc, who knew? Now I'm going to be wanting an RPE, headgear, and grappling hook on these bad boys.

Hee! I just added that article to my Favorites/Orthodontia folder! (Another 50-year-old who looks younger because of the changes in my bite)