Braces can affect your face shape because they correct your bite and tooth alignment, changing how your lips, cheeks, and jaw naturally rest. This isn’t a dramatic change like surgery, but a gradual one that shows as your teeth move into a better position.
Aligning protruding teeth or correcting a deep overbite can often help your lips close more naturally, and realigning the jaw can give your chin or jawline a more defined look. In the following, SmileCrew Orthodontics will discuss which facial features can change during treatment, why they change, and what to expect when you finish wearing braces.
How Can Braces Change the Shape of Your Face?
When braces move the teeth and jaw into a new position, they also change the position of the soft tissue that covers your teeth and jaw. Your lips, cheeks and chin will follow the direction of the bite below. So, if a bite moves into a better alignment, the tissue above will relax and move to a new position, often a more comfortable one. This process happens over time and is directly related to tooth movement, not a cosmetic outcome added on top of the straightening process.
Which Facial Features Can Braces Affect?
Braces can affect your lips, jawline, chin, and overall facial symmetry. But the degree of change depends heavily on your starting bite.
- Straightening protruding teeth or correcting an overbite lets your lips close more naturally and rest flat. It often makes them look more balanced or fuller than they did with teeth pushing them forward.
- Correcting alignment issues like an underbite or overbite also helps the lower jaw settle into a better position. It can also make the jawline or chin appear more defined.
- Fixing an uneven bite lets your chewing muscles work evenly on both sides, which gradually improves overall facial balance over the course of treatment.
Do Braces Change Your Jawline?
Braces can change your lower jaw shape relative to your upper jaw, but not by reshaping the bone itself. So you may see a different jawline appearance during treatment. If you have an underbite or an overbite, correcting it aligns your jaw, which can make your jawline look sharper or more defined because it’s in the correct position. You’ll notice this effect in younger patients whose jaws are still developing, because braces with growth guidance may affect final jaw growth.
Why Does Your Face Look Different After Braces?
Your face will look different because your lips, cheeks, and jaw muscles adjust to a new, more balanced bite. This isn’t because your bone structure changed shape. According to the study published in the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, those receiving premolar extraction demonstrated a measurable retrusion of the upper and lower lips, about 2.7 to 2.8 millimeters, compared to those who did not undergo extractions. This soft-tissue reaction can make two people with identical starting smiles look very different when their final smiles differ based on their treatment.
Can Braces Change Your Face More During Childhood or the Teen Years?
Braces change your face more noticeably when you’re still a child or teenager. Because at this stage, your jawbones are still developing and respond well to orthodontic treatment.
According to the American Association of Orthodontists, the best time for an early orthodontic evaluation is age 7. This gives an orthodontist more time to guide the growth of the developing bite or jaw. Adults are different and do not respond to braces the same way. So, facial changes mostly come from soft tissue changes around the new tooth positions, not bone changes.
Facial Feature |
What Can Change |
Why It Happens |
| Lips | May look fuller or more balanced | Less forward pressure once teeth are aligned |
| Jawline/chin | Can look more defined | Lower jaw settles into better alignment |
| Facial symmetry | Gradually more even | Chewing muscles work equally on both sides |
| Profile | More visible shift in complex or extraction cases | Greater tooth and lip movement required |
What Facial Changes Can You Expect After Braces?
Facial changes after braces largely depend on the severity of your bite problem. Slight teeth straightening will produce less visible changes in your face. More serious bite corrections will produce clearer facial changes.
Minor spacing or crowding cases may not greatly change your face, but they may make your smile look straighter, whereas significant overbite corrections or tooth extractions will noticeably affect how your lips and lower face rest. The best way to know what to expect is to discuss your case in detail with your orthodontist before treatment.
FAQs
Do braces really change the shape of your face?
Braces can change your face a little by fixing how your lips, cheeks, and jaw sit. The change is slow and usually not very big.
Can braces make your jawline look different?
Yes. If you have an overbite or underbite, braces can help your lower jaw sit in the right place. This can make your jawline and chin look sharper.
Will braces change the appearance of your lips?
Yes, a little. If your teeth stick out, braces can bring them back. Then your lips can close more easily and look more natural.
Do facial changes from braces last?
Yes, they usually last forever if your teeth stay straight. That is why you must wear your retainer after braces, as your orthodontist says.
Can braces change your profile?
If you have a severe overbite or have had teeth extracted, your side profile may change more. Your lips and jaw will look different than before.
Bottom Line
Braces can subtly change your face shape by improving how your lips, jaw, and cheeks rest after your bite is corrected, depending on your starting bite, extractions, and age. Children and teens experience more changes to their teeth and gums because their jaws continue to develop. Adults, on the other hand, notice more changes in the soft tissue around the teeth.
If you live in the Buda and Leander, Texas area, visit SmileCrew Orthodontics to learn what kind of change suits you. Call SmileCrew Orthodontics now to learn what to expect from treatment!
