Left with nothing to smile about
Bid for bee-stung pouts push teeth out of place
CELEBRITY and appearance-obsessed women are ruining their smiles with excessive lip fillers which are acting like “invisible braces” and pushing teeth inward.
Orthodontists say the compelling quest for beestung pouts, of the type paraded by Khloe Kardashian, has sparked a 70 per cent rise over four years in demand for braces, veneers and composite bonding to move teeth back into position.
In extreme cases, women in Australia, London and America have reported losing teeth by opting for fast and cheap invisible Invisalign braces from rushed providers who do not examine bone loss before fitting braces.
“Lips filled over time and excessively can force the muscle under the lip to evert and cause the lips to purse, applying an element of pressure against the teeth which can cause them to retrocline,” London based dental clinician and cosmetic dentist Dr Uchenna Okoye said.
“Fillers and Botox can also force the muscles around the mouth to overwork in an effort to close the lips.
“There is n o t h i n g
against fillers but you don’t want big lips and fat turkey teeth, those cheap, perfect, plastic, white teeth … that are difficult to correct.”
Dr Okoye said the younger demographic “want veneers, or Invisalign” but did not realise the consequences. “I have seen an increase of at least 70 per cent in patients in the last four years asking for braces to correct teeth after having excessive fillers because people realise teeth form scaffolding for the face,” she said. “Braces pull the teeth out and provide more support and eradicate corner lines around the mouth.”
Sydney based GP and cosmetic physician, Doctor Jason Cooke, said patients
who overfilled their lips could be predisposed to identifying flaws in their dental alignment.
The Australian Dental Association NSW said while there was no statistical evidence to support the trend that fillers move teeth, it is “entirely possible”.
“Clinicians say it is entirely possible for this to occur from a physiological standpoint,” a spokeswoman said.
In America, Baltimore orthodontist and cosmetic injector Amanda Gallagher said 60 per cent of patients were requesting braces after lip fillers, compared to 25 per cent pre Covid.