We’ve had patients ask, “Will braces change my face?” The answer is, it can. Orthodontic treatment is about more than just straightening the teeth. It also involves improving the relationship between the upper and lower arch so the teeth can come together properly. By bringing the teeth and jaws into alignment, braces and Invisalign® can have a positive impact on your face shape and features.
For a mild case, such as small spaces or minor crowding, a straighter smile may be the only noticeable improvement of your face. However, in more severe cases, such as with an underbite or overbite that’s due to a jaw imbalance, once the teeth and jaws are aligned, the facial and smile enhancement will be much more dramatic.
In this post, we’ll take a closer look at some of the ways Invisalign and braces can affect your face and answer common questions, including:
- Can braces fix an asymmetrical face?
- Do braces change your nose?
- Do braces change your lips?
- Can braces change your jawline?
Face Changes After Braces or Invisalign
One thing to consider when talking about face changes after braces or Invisalign is that age is an important factor. In younger patients who are still growing and developing, we can much more easily manipulate the jaw and facial structure.
In fact, sometimes, the main purpose of early interceptive orthodontics is to balance a child’s facial features by guiding jaw growth. Orthopedic appliances like the Herbst appliance, a traditional palatal expander or the new Invisalign palatal expander system can be incredibly helpful in doing this.
For adults who are done growing, orthodontic treatment can still be extremely effective for improving severe facial imbalances and discrepancies.
Our American board-certified orthodontist Dr. Manal Ibrahim even pioneered an alternative to jaw surgery. Her approach involves precise digital treatment planning and custom Invisalign aligners or SureSmile® prescription braces wires to non-surgically camouflage jaw discrepancies, potentially creating a more balanced facial appearance.
Can Braces Fix an Asymmetrical Face?
It’s pretty rare that a person’s face is perfectly symmetrical and it’s often barely noticeable that it’s not. However, occasionally, there can be significant discrepancies that begin in the jaw. In these cases, braces and Invisalign can vastly improve an asymmetrical face.
Addressing facial asymmetry is also a reason we may recommend phase 1 orthodontic treatment. As noted previously, we can use orthopedic appliances to guide facial and jaw growth in children, creating a stable bite and more symmetrical face.
Do Braces Change Your Nose?
A lot of how we perceive symmetry and face shape has to do with angles. We’ve been asked questions like do braces change your nose? The answer is not directly. However, shifting the teeth and jaws alters the angles between the lips and nose, which is why you may notice a small difference in your nose before and after braces.
If you’re worried braces will make your nose look bigger or smaller in a way that’s unflattering, have no fear. At Innovative Orthodontic Centers, Dr. Ibrahim and Dr. Gin keep even the tiniest details in mind and design your smile to bring out the best in your features.
Do Braces Change Your Lips?
Invisalign and braces don’t add or remove volume from the lips but treatment can still change how they look. Properly aligned teeth and jaws provide the right support for the lips, giving them the appearance of being fuller in some people and creating a more youthful look.
Can Braces Change Your Jawline?
Yes, Invisalign and braces can change your jawline by fixing discrepancies between the upper and lower jaw. Whether a change is noticeable or not will depend on your unique case.
Orthodontic Treatment and Facial Changes: Common Examples
Underbite – With an underbite, the bottom teeth sit in front of the top teeth, causing the lower jaw to stick out. In this case, you may see a noticeable difference in your face before and after braces.
By correcting the imbalance between the upper and lower jaw and fixing the way the teeth and jaws meet, the lower half of your face will appear more harmonious. Your features will look a lot softer and more proportionate.
Overbite – An excessive overbite is when the top teeth cover too much of the bottom teeth when the jaws are closed. It’s also another type of malocclusion where Invisalign or braces can change the jawline for the better. If you look at an overbite vs. normal side profile, you’ll see that an overbite can create the appearance of a “weak chin” and sunken cheeks.
By helping the arches come together correctly and aligning the bite, orthodontic treatment can give you a more balanced facial profile and a stronger chin and jawline.
Open Bite – When you have an open bite, the front teeth don’t come together at all. When you try to close your lips, you have to stretch them to fit over the teeth. This makes the face have a long shape and causes major issues with speech and eating.
Invisalign and braces will allow the front teeth to contact, improving your smile and function, and even giving you the cheeks and lips you have always dreamed of.
Other Types of Malocclusion – Any type of malocclusion, including a crossbite or just general crooked teeth problems, can distort your face shape or features. Aligning the teeth gives you a healthy, beautiful smile that serves as the focal point of your face and creates harmony with the rest of your facial features.
The Importance of Visiting an Orthodontic Specialist for Braces or Invisalign
The fact that Invisalign and braces can change your face, highlights the importance of seeing an orthodontic specialist for any type of teeth straightening treatment. Orthodontists complete two to three years of additional specialty training after dental school. It’s during this training that they become experts in balancing function and aesthetics, meaning they have the know-how to correct misalignment in a way that boosts your oral health and appearance.
At Innovative Orthodontic Centers, our Naperville orthodontists, Dr. Ibrahim and Dr. Gin, took it a step further and became board-certified by the American Board of Orthodontics. They voluntarily did hundreds of extra hours of preparation and passed clinical exams to demonstrate their commitment to exceptional patient care.
How Our High-Tech Approach Achieves Outstanding Results
Dr. Ibrahim and Dr. Gin take a high-tech approach and are big believers in computerized treatment planning. When you visit Innovative Orthodontic Centers for a consultation, we’ll take digital scans of your teeth. Dr. Ibrahim and Dr. Gin will then manipulate a virtual 3D model of your mouth to determine when and where each individual tooth will move until they get the position of the teeth relative to your lips, cheeks, profile, and jaws just right.
Not only will they design the perfect smile for your unique facial and dental features, but they’ll also account for factors like how your teeth and the shape of the face change as you get older. This ensures you get a stunning smile and facial profile that lasts a lifetime.
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