THINNING of face during braces

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#76 Post by **Jewles** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 5:38 pm

The problem is you never hear from the people that have had extractions and are fine. Its only the ones who are unhappy that make a big song and dance of it.

#77 Post by **drrick** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 11:53 am

Very true
You dont turn the news on and hear...there were no accidents on the freeway today. Every one got home safely and quickly.

#78 Post by **bervgirl** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 9:57 pm

Another thought is if you previously clenched your teeth at night you may have stopped doing that currently due to soreness of teeth. This allows the muscles to atrophy a bit and makes the face seem slimmer. I am a big time clencher normally but since having braces I have not clenched as much and my face is becoming more oval again like it was when I was younger. The masseter muscles can really build up and change the shape of your face!

#79 Post by **gracey82** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 1:53 am

Interesting. When you mentioned lots measurements taken and all that before you do your extractions, the ortho is actually taken into consideration how it will change your profile if extraction is done on your case. That kinda reassure you and you know what to expect.

Intriguingly enough, my ortho didnt do any of those measurements. I have my x-ray taken etc and a look at the x ray she said i need extraction. Surely enough I can also see my protrusion of my teeth. But should I also expect the ortho be doing measurements done to see what kind of facial changes or aesthetic changes that I will be expecting, before advising me to get extraction?

#80 Post by **Jewles** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 3:40 am

The ortho probably did measurements using your xrays when you werent in the room

#81 Post by **gokix** » Fri Jan 01, 2010 7:14 pm

I'm in my early 20's, about 8 months into treatment with approximately 10-12 months left. I have noticed a change... just not in the teeth but my face around the jaw line. I had an underbite, high canines, and four extractions (2 on top, 2 on bottom) before the braces were put on.

My features are not as soft as they once were. It seems the braces are pushing the lower half of my face down and out, and my cheeks also look more hollow. (naturally long face + very high cheekbones = weird combo *sigh*). As the bite correction continues I have noticed my upper lip appears fuller. It would have been nice if the Orthodonist had mentioned some of these changes in the consultation. Just sayin'.

#82 Post by **VA5** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 9:52 pm

gokix wrote:I'm in my early 20's, about 8 months into treatment with approximately 10-12 months left. I have noticed a change... just not in the teeth but my face around the jaw line. I had an underbite, high canines, and four extractions (2 on top, 2 on bottom) before the braces were put on.

My features are not as soft as they once were. It seems the braces are pushing the lower half of my face down and out, and my cheeks also look more hollow. (naturally long face + very high cheekbones = weird combo *sigh*). As the bite correction continues I have noticed my upper lip appears fuller. It would have been nice if the Orthodonist had mentioned some of these changes in the consultation. Just sayin'.

Interesting b/c my upper lip appears fuller too. But, I thought it was just the appliances in my mouth. You know, pushing my lips out. In many ways it's hard for me to close my mouth comfortably/naturally w/o my lips feeling puffy. So maybe that's what it is.

I too have a naturally long face and high cheekbones.

#83 Post by **petitcanard** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 3:48 pm

Just wanted to pipe up with my two bits. Was braced a couple months ago, and my face without a doubt looks thinner and my cheekbones are more pronounced. I'm not imagining it and it's commented on so frequently - unprompted by me - I can't be classed as neurotic. (or not for that reason anyway)

All that being said, I think part of it is having turbos on the backs of my two front teeth; they do not allow my mouth to close fully which will logically make my face appear thinner. Also, because I can't chew anything I've lost a bit of weight due to diet change (which I am correcting now that I'm used to the turbos). Lastly, I'm naturally thin with high cheekbones and as such there isn't a ton of room for unnoticeable change. Even slight changes will stand out.

Although I'm not wild about the starving-cat-face look, I'm pretty sure it will get better once the turbos are off and hopefully a bit better again when the braces come off. I'm not getting too worked up about it, as I know over the next 2 years there will be tons of things shifting around.

We're all hyper-sensitive to any changes I think, especially in the first stages, so I think it's natural to worry and having a forum like this is a good place to talk it out. I figure if anyone is really unhappy or worried it's a good idea to talk to your ortho.

#84 Post by **mdbo** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 10:44 pm

I have had my palate expander in for just over 3 months and have completed all 30 turns - no extractions - and I agree my face is THINNER now - checks are sunken and my check bone are definately higher. My teeth are tilted out and I cannot put my top teeth over my bottom as before and I am yet to be braced so I hope this is not permanent when the teeth are aligned but I would love the hear from others who have had this problem and then return to normal again......????

#85 Post by **stevecrowded** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 7:41 pm

My two cents. I've learned that a number of movements orthodontists do can extrude the molars somewhat. Because of a "wedge effect", raising the molars a little raises the front more. This increases your "Vertical Dimension of Occlusion", which basically means that your closed mandible is rotated down some, which literally lengthens your face somewhat. This definitely can make your face look longer and thinner.

I don't know of other causes, but I know of this one.

#86 Post by **jambo532** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 8:20 pm

So yeah I thought this was just me. Glad to see there are more people out there with this problem. I went and saw a friend the other day and she told me I got skinny and to stop it (i'm tiny but not too tiny... losing weight would not be good for me.) I went home and looked at pics... it's for sure my face. It does make since tho since my lips look bigger it makes the rest of my face smaller.
www.allbrace.blogspot.com

#87 Post by **Bekah** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 8:38 pm

Jewles wrote:The problem is you never hear from the people that have had extractions and are fine. Its only the ones who are unhappy that make a big song and dance of it.

I had extractions and am so glad that I listened to my orthodontist! I didn't realize that my profile could be fixed. I always just thought I had a double chin no matter how thin I was! For the first time in my life I have a chin!

But you are right, you never hear from people who are happy.

#88 Post by **avy** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 2:34 pm

mdbo wrote:I have had my palate expander in for just over 3 months and have completed all 30 turns - no extractions - and I agree my face is THINNER now - checks are sunken and my check bone are definately higher. My teeth are tilted out and I cannot put my top teeth over my bottom as before and I am yet to be braced so I hope this is not permanent when the teeth are aligned but I would love the hear from others who have had this problem and then return to normal again......????

Definitely dont worry about your bite right now - mine looked like a train wreck after I'd finished expanding! The braces will fix all that. I have had the opposite effect from surgery and braces. My face in rounder and fuller rather than being thinner and sunken. Everyone is different though, you cant compare one persons experience to anothers.

#89 Post by **juppiejux** » Thu Sep 23, 2010 11:43 am

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forums:) I'm about to get braces done so I've been reading up a lot. I'm 25 this year and visited a dental surgeon once when I was 19 and then my current ortho. Both told me that I needed to have 4 bicuspids extracted. After reading all the horror stories about sunken cheeks, I'm getting really jittery about things. I've spoken to my ortho about facial aesthetics and she has reassured me that aside from my lips, everything else will still be the same and that she will monitor closely. Once I reach the desired position, she will close the gap with my molars instead of my canine. Is there anything that I can do to prevent sunken cheeks from happening? Many thanks in advance for your kind replies.

#90 Post by **juppiejux** » Thu Sep 23, 2010 11:47 am

She also said that if I do not have them removed, she can realign my teeth but they will potrude even more. I have a bimaxillary proclination, moderate upper and mild lower crowding and crossbite on 2 on top and 2 on the bottom row. HELP!