What is the "braces face" that everyone cares about and fears? Is it inevitable that even stars can do orthodontics?
Dr. Bei invited the orthodontist of Shanghai Ninth Hospital to explain how to avoid the strange circle of "braces face".
The following is an article by Dr. Xu Ziqing.
Having beautiful teeth is the wish of every girl who loves beauty. It is common for many people to "bear the burden of humiliation" for two or three years, just to capture the male god once they become beautiful.
Then the problem is coming. When many people come to consult orthodontics, they all mention a word: "braces face". Where did this come from? Today, I will tell you about this "fresh" term.
The origin of "braces face"
In fact, there is no word "braces" in professional orthodontics books.
Simple explanation: Compared with the facial condition before and after treatment, the patient has prominent cheekbones and sunken cheeks.
In fact, we began to pay attention to this problem as early as several years ago. Recently, more and more adults have started orthodontics because of their beautiful faces, and the saying of braces has gradually appeared.
Many patients gave me vivid metaphors when reflecting this problem, such as The Lord of the Rings's Gollum.
The majority of correction patients are adults, and the proportion of women exceeds 90%. It is conceivable that these girls who love beauty are confused and worried, but the academic community has never had an official answer to "braces face".
Causes of the formation of "braces face"
Here, I will combine a large number of adult correction cases over the years and my own correction pro-test to tell you about the reasons for "braces face":
1. masticatory muscular atrophy
Anyone who has worn braces or knows braces knows that in the first week, the teeth are very uncomfortable, and they are extremely sour when biting. Me too. I basically lived on porridge and noodles a few days before wearing braces.
Although it recovered afterwards, it was still not as good as when it was not worn. During the whole one and a half years of treatment, my bite strength was greatly weakened, because the frequency of chewing food decreased, and the masticatory muscles would inevitably shrink to a certain extent.
So what is masticatory muscle?
Masticatory muscles are also muscle tissues. Let's give a simple example. Let's take a look at that muscular man. If he exercises more every day, his muscles will develop. On the contrary, if he stays in bed for several months, his muscles will atrophy. For example, many people think of the male god "Prison Break" muscular man Wentworth.
In this way, after wearing braces, the masticatory muscle system will degenerate correspondingly due to the strong discomfort of teeth or the change of occlusal relationship. This degeneration is one of the main reasons for the formation of "braces face".
In addition to the masseter muscles on both sides of the mandible, the masticatory muscles also include the temporal muscles of the temples. Imagine that the cheeks and temples are thin, does it appear that the cheekbones are prominent?
lose weight
Many patients will lose weight to some extent after wearing braces. Part of the reason is that the occlusal ability is worse because of braces, or that it is troublesome to wear braces to brush your teeth, or even give up eating snacks.
For girls who want to lose weight, losing weight is great, but it is not a good thing for girls who are thin, especially those with thin faces. Face emaciation and cheek fat loss are also one of the reasons for the face with braces.
3. Aging changes
According to my research, most patients who complain about "braces face" are women over 20 years old.
As we all know, women will face the problem of facial fat and skin elasticity decline after the age of 25, especially the zygomatic and buccal fat pad, which is an important supporting structure of the face. The most obvious manifestations of relaxation of these structures are midfacial depression, prominent zygomatic arch and deepening nasolabial groove.
Some people's corrective treatment lasts for 2-3 years. When the treatment is over, it is easy to blame the normal aging changes of the face on the side effects of braces. This is why adolescent patients wear braces with almost no "braces face" trouble.
4. Corrective scheme and method
Based on the oriental face, the proportion of patients who need tooth extraction correction to solve buck teeth is very high. Is tooth extraction correction related to "braces face"?
Personally, I think there may be some connection between the two. Orthodontics with tooth extraction can adducte incisors and achieve the effect of lip adduction, but sometimes too much tooth extraction will lead to a flat face, which looks a little old and presents a "braces face".
Preventive and remedial measures of "braces"
In fact, the face with braces is not as scary as I thought. If you realize it in advance, communicate with doctors and take appropriate measures, it can be prevented to some extent. Let me tell you something about my experience:
1. Pay special attention to people with braces.
Patients over 25 years old with emaciated face, prominent cheekbones and short temples should be especially careful when correcting.
2. Preventive measures for "braces face"
As a professional orthodontist, if you face patients with high risk of "braces", you should try to avoid operations that interfere with occlusion, such as raising the back teeth. After each visit, the intensity should be as light as possible to reduce the discomfort of patients and the acid feeling that may occur when chewing.
Orthopedics are also different. Relatively light corrective methods make patients more comfortable. For example, the popular invisible appliance allows patients to take off their braces when eating and chewing, which has little influence on the masseter muscles and is easy to avoid "braces face".
3. Remedial measures for "braces face"
I found that if there is a "braces face", it will gradually relieve itself after the chewing function is gradually restored, but it may not be completely restored to the past. After all, there is still the possibility of age change.
Therefore, for patients with high facial requirements, some micro-plastic measures can be taken after correction, such as hyaluronic acid, autologous fat filling temples, risorius, etc., which can not only supplement the lost soft tissue volume, but also further obtain a more three-dimensional and plump facial contour.
The above is the way to prevent and alleviate the "braces face". It should be emphasized that orthodontics itself is a kind of treatment, and the goal of treatment is to straighten teeth, adjust occlusal relationship and improve profile. I very much hope that my colleagues will face up to the problem of "braces face" and patients and friends will understand it correctly. Don't fall into the strange circle of "braces face" because of some wrong cognition.
It can be seen that not everyone will wear braces, so it is very important to find a professional orthodontist for orthodontics!
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