Introduction
Week after week, people go for a consultation while having a phone in their hand. The video on the screen has a few million views and claims that braces slim the face, sharpen the jawline, or destroy a person’s cheeks forever. The question underlying all of this is reasonable: if the teeth are going to move, what then happens to the face around them?
A truthful answer lies somewhere between those two extremes. Dental Braces have no effect on the bone of an adult’s face and are not considered cosmetic surgery. In some cases, patients do notice a real difference in the appearance of their lips and side profile, and that difference can be predicted and talked about before treatment begins. The article distinguishes between the points that are valid and those that are not.
What braces move, and what they leave alone
Teeth are set in a bone layer known as the alveolar bone, which encircles the roots and adapts when subjected to continuous, mild pressure. The braces produce this pressure by means of brackets and a wire, and after a number of months the bone reconstructs around each root as it moves into its new position. It is this process that forms the basis of orthodontic treatment.
The rest of the face is different in this respect: the cheekbones, the width of the jaw, the length of the chin and the position of the nose are part of the facial skeleton and stop growing when a person reaches adulthood. The movement of the teeth in no way affects these structures, and so anyone who claims to be able to produce a new jawline using just a wire and brackets is describing something that braces cannot achieve.
The alteration that people actually notice is in their lips and their profile.
The way social media handles braces in Dubai is only partly accurate since the lips touch the front teeth and then move with those teeth.
In people whose upper front teeth protrude, the lips tend to be apart when at rest, and it takes some effort to bring them together. Correcting the position of those teeth can enable the lips to meet more easily and may give the side profile a flatter appearance. The same thing applies in the other direction; when the teeth are tipped inwards, the lips can appear to lack support, and moving them forward can regain some of that fullness.
The arch has a lesser role; in some cases, correcting narrow and crowded arches does make the smile appear wider because fewer of the darker spaces are visible at the corners when a person smiles. Although the cheeks themselves have not been altered, photographs can give the impression that they have.
The effects differ from person to person and will depend on the position of the teeth originally, the amount of movement involved in the treatment, and the thickness of the lips.
Why the halfway photos look strange
The online panic is largely based on photographs taken halfway through the treatment, so it’s useful to know what is actually going on in those photographs.
The brackets are situated between the teeth and the lips, which causes the lips to remain slightly forward for the entire time that the braces are in use; however, the lips move back within weeks after the braces have been removed, and this is what is seen in selfies taken at that stage. The teeth also become tender following each adjustment visit, and so during those days people eat softer foods and consume less of them. Changes in weight that occur over a period of one or two years are visible in the face, and the braces are held responsible. The final effect is then due to camera angle, lens and lighting.
If you find that a change is worrying you at any stage, then go in for a review visit and request that your present photographs be compared with those taken at the beginning.
Extractions and the profile question
The decision about removing permanent teeth is the one that patients most frequently ask about, typically because they have seen a video warning them against it.
Space may be required when there is severe overcrowding or when it is necessary to pull the protruding front teeth back so that the lips can close. It is the premolars that are most frequently removed in order to achieve this. Retracting the front teeth into the available space can cause the profile to become slightly flatter, a feature that is suitable for some faces but not for others.
That is precisely the reason why the decision should be made during the planning consultation and not in the comment section. Two individuals who have the same degree of crowding may end up with different treatment plans since one has full lips and a prominent chin whereas the other does not. The dentist or orthodontist ought to explain why extraction is being recommended in your particular case, what the alternatives are, and what the profile is likely to look like after treatment. In many instances, patients are treated without any teeth being removed at all by using arch expansion or by carefully reshaping the points of contact between the teeth to obtain the necessary space.
Children and teens: growth changes the answer
It is with growing patients that jaw relationships can be affected, and it is in this area that most of the confusion on the internet arises.
When a child is still growing, devices such as expanders or functional appliances can be used to influence the way the upper and lower jaws relate to one another. It is important to get the timing right, since this depends on the stage of growth and not merely on the child’s age, which is why clinicians make their assessment based on both an examination and X-rays. In Dubai, it is common for parents to have their children’s first orthodontic examination at the age of seven, this being the time when the first adult molars and incisors have generally come in and when a clinician is able to see how the bite is developing.
People who have a great difference between their upper and lower jaws are at the opposite end of this discussion. In an adult, altering the position of the jaw bones has to combine orthodontics with jaw surgery, a procedure planned by a specialist team. Braces by themselves are not the right tool for the job.
Claims that do not hold up
There are several ideas that deserve a simple answer.
There is no known mechanism by which braces can produce a slimmer face since braces only move teeth and do not remove fat from the cheeks. The idea of shaping the jawline through tongue posture, which is known as mewing and which is widely advertised, does not have good evidence to back it up when it comes to altering an adult’s face, no matter what the before and after photographs may indicate. The so-called braces face, which is online described as being caused by the treatment and characterised by sunken cheeks, is generally due to a change in weight, temporary soreness or just an unattractive photo.
Another point that is worth disregarding is the idea that braces for adults pose a greater risk in terms of appearance than braces worn by teenagers. Adults are every day treated with dental braces and clear aligners every day, and the changes they experience to their faces obey the same rules as those of everyone else.
How your dentist discusses the profile before you start
An appropriate planning appointment addresses this question before any bracket is inserted. The records typically consist of clinical photographs taken from the front and side, x-rays, and an intraoral scan which produces a digital model of the teeth. When a more detailed examination of the bite and jaw relationship is required, a cephalometric x-ray is used to show how the teeth relate to the jaws and the profile.
Having the records in front of you, pose direct questions and find out if your treatment plan involves moving the front teeth backwards or forwards, whether extractions are included, and what the final side profile is expected to be by the team. A clinician who is able to go through the reasoning with you provides something that no video can.
Conclusion
Braces alter the position of the teeth as well as the support of the lips and the appearance of the side profile, though the bones of the face remain in their original position. Many of the dramatic statements that are being circulated online confuse these two points or attribute changes to weight loss, ageing, or to the angle of the camera. If you are thinking about getting braces in Dubai and the issue concerning face shape is the one preventing you from making a decision, then you should go for a consultation, refer to your own records and base your decision on that rather than on a comment thread.
Contact us
From routine check-ups to advanced treatments, Magnum Dental Clinic’s Arjan clinic is open now.
Name: Magnum Dental Clinic – Arjan
Address: Building 88, Al Barsha South, Near Miracle Garden, Arjan, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Phone: +971 55 890 8653
