How Orthodontics Affects Your Facial Structure | David Ross Orthodontics (2024)

FAQs

How does orthodontics effect your face? ›

Orthodontic treatments can create a more proportionate and balanced facial look by adjusting the midline, correcting misaligned jaws, and improving smile aesthetics. Patients gain from enhanced dental health and function in addition to favorable changes in the overall appearance of their faces.

Braces are primarily designed to change the shape of jaws and help with straight teeth, but shifts in the jawline can subtly alter the angle between your lips and nose, affecting the face and skin. To be realistic, we're only talking about minimal alterations, in harmony with the realigned shape of your mouth.

Teeth alignment directly influences jaw positioning. Crowded, gapped, or misaligned teeth can lead to an imbalanced bite, affecting jaw alignment and, consequently, the overall facial structure.

For example, when the upper teeth are positioned more forward or backward than they should be, the cheekbones can look sunken. Braces can shift the upper jaw to a better position and reintroduce symmetry by closing uneven spacings between the teeth. This can improve the definition of your cheekbones.

The rarest smile type is the complex smile, with only an estimated 2% of the population possessing this smile. This smile is rare because it requires three muscle groups to work simultaneously when smiling.

Invisalign won't alter your face in a hugely obvious way- it's not a surgery or a cosmetic treatment, like cheek fillers. So, Invisalign won't change the shape of your nose, or make your face longer.

Orthodontic Treatments to Fix Facial Asymmetry

If it's a case of wonky teeth causing your face to look a little lopsided, braces or clear aligners will do the trick. These appliances put continuous pressure on your teeth, slowly moving them into the correct positions and balancing out your facial features.

Although brace require some adaptation, for sure, they will not affect your singing voice. After correcting your teeth, your voice will get even better. Singing is usually affected by the vocal cords, so if the vocal cords are healthy, then you shouldn't have to worry.

The braces will help realign your jaw and get your teeth into the right places. In some cases, the braces might be enough to fully correct long face syndrome, but in many cases, surgery will be required. Your orthodontist and surgeon will work together to come up with a care plan for your case.

Factors such as aging, trauma, and lifestyle choices, such as smoking or sun exposure, may contribute towards asymmetry. If a person has always had asymmetrical features, there is no cause for concern.

What can change your facial structure? ›

Orthodontics and veneers can alter a person's bite, which can change the facial symmetry and profile. Facelifts can pull loose skin taut. They make the bone structure more evident and remove jowls. They can raise the brow and make the eyes appear wider.

Reduce double chins and uneven jawlines

Braces can help improve your smile's look, directly impacting how your cheekbones and jawline work together. Your cheeks will look more distinct and sharp as a result, which can improve your facial structure, helping you maintain a youthful appearance.

Yes, braces can change your jawline, your chin, the shape of your mouth, and even your lips. However, these effects are secondary to the actual reforming of your teeth and bite. Braces can tighten your jawline and your teeth, but this happens over time and imperceptibly.

No. They do not modify the shape of your nose. Any orthodontic treatment, including Invisalign, does not directly impact your nose or lengthen your face. Braces can adjust the width of the upper jaw, but they do not extend the structures that affect the size and shape of the nose.

It is possible both to increase the width of the maxilla and to increase, respectively decrease, forward growth of the maxilla.

Depending on the type of treatment you're receiving, your facial shape can change subtly. For those who have a large overbite, your misaligned jaw and pronounced front teeth can give you the appearance of an undefined lower jaw and weak chin.

A 'flat face' refers to the retraction of the upper and lower lips through orthodontic retraction of the upper and lower incisors. Retraction of the lip increases the nasolabial and labiomental fold angle, resulting the 'flattening' of the midface.

Use clear braces. As you know, braces are sunken cheeks or sunken temples mainly due to an upset diet, difficulty in chewing. So a simple solution is to switch to using transparent braces if possible.

They don't actually make your lips bigger, but braces can make them appear bigger since they push the lips out somewhat. This effect is temporary, and your lips will return to their natural positioning once the braces are removed.