Do Braces Change Your Face Shape?

Braces move teeth through the bone that holds them. The jaw bone itself, the cheekbones, the chin and the shape of the skull are not reshaped by standard braces. That is why people looking at before-and-after photos are often seeing a change in the smile and the lips rather than in the underlying face.

What does change is the position of the front teeth, and the lips rest on those teeth. Move the teeth and the lip support changes with them.

If the upper front teeth stick out, moving them back usually relaxes the profile, and the lips can look less prominent and sit more comfortably together. If the front teeth were tipped back, moving them forward can give the lips more support and make the area around the mouth look fuller.

In cases where teeth are taken out to create space, which is described in braces side effects and do braces fix overbite, the front teeth may move back further, and the lips can follow. The change is usually modest, and an orthodontist can often predict the direction from the X-rays and photographs before you start.

It is worth knowing that faces also change with age, so some of what people attribute to braces in a long treatment is simply time passing, particularly in teenagers.

In a growing child, orthodontic appliances can guide how the jaws develop, for example by widening a narrow upper jaw or influencing how the lower jaw grows forward. That can have a more visible effect on the profile than braces alone in an adult. The timing is explained in the best age for braces.

In an adult, growth has finished, so braces alone cannot change the jaw position. A significant jaw discrepancy in an adult is sometimes treated with surgery combined with braces, which is a different and much larger decision than braces alone.

Temporary changes are normal. Lips can look slightly fuller when brackets sit behind them, and early on you may feel your face looks different. Both settle when the braces come off.

If appearance is the main reason you want treatment, say so at the consultation. A good orthodontist will look at your profile and talk about what the likely change is, including whether extractions are needed, rather than only looking at the teeth. You can see how the clinic approaches treatment on the braces and orthodontics page.