Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi everyone. I had MMA surgery September 6th in Palo Alto. Everything went well, healing has been fine, and the doctor was able to move my jaw 14MM forward. However, once the rubber bands/arch bars were removed I noticed I am still breathing through my mouth. Also, my mouth is really dry all the time. Has anyone had that? I feel like the roof of my mouth is much deeper post MMA which is causing it. Is that possible? My doctor is now suggesting SARPE which I rather not have done.

I was still breathing through my mouth for a few months post-op until I made a conscious decision to close my lips throughout the day. It took a LOT of practice and several times a day I would catch myself breathing through my mouth again. BUT practice made perfect and after a couple weeks of this I got it to where my new normal is keeping my lips closed. The surgery doesn't change your habits, just your structure that should make it easier to breathe through your nose when you try. Give it a shot!

I still catch myself breathing through my mouth several times during the day. And still a mouth breather at night; and dry in the mornings.

If given the option of SARPE; I'd do it! More tongue room and better nasal breathing; due to wider passages.

Thanks guys. I guess I am not alone. Still trying to breath through my mouth during the day as suggested . I feel like I have regressed since my arch bars were removed maybe because of the mouth breathing.

Another question - how long was your nose crooked post MMA?

Concerned another Sarpe because of the year with braces.

My nose wasn’t crooked at all post-op. At least not any more so than it was pre-op

There may be something to your regressing after the archbars came off due to mouth breathing. If you don’t hold your chin in the new position, the muscles will tend to pull it back to its previous position. Rest assured that it’s not changing the way the bones fit together, though; worst case you’ll need some muscle relaxers when you start trying to breathe through your nose full-time to make it easier to fit your jaws together.

Good luck, and keep us posted if you end up going for SARPE!

Thanks Snapdresser!