Metal Mouth Message Board

I have a really bad receeding chin, gummy smile and its hard to close my mouth i had braces when i was 12 my orthodontist told me my jaw was crooked, but never told my parents or made a big deal about it..i have always thought i just needed a chin implant, until i read about the jaw surgery, but i have been looking at before and after pics of chin implants and the jaw surgery and they dont really look different...so why would someone go through the jaw surgery when they can just get a chin implant? or doesnt it do as good of a job...?i just want to be able to be comfortable with my appearance and better able to close my mouth..

A chin implant is a cosmetic fix. It may be a good solution for someone whose only problem is having a small or receding chin.

On the other hand, it does nothing to change the size or chape of your jaw. It will not fix problems like overbite, overjet, gummy smile, crossbite, and so on. It wil do nothing for your gummy smile or inability to close your mouth. Those problems involve repositioning the jaw bones themselves.

I have done both!

If it is definitely ONLY your chin (not your jaw) which is the 'issue', then an implant might work well. If the real underlying problem is a recessed jaw, which is what a receeding chin is, then an implant is not the best solution. I am far, far happier fixing my recessed jaw via surgery and putting it in the right place to correct my bite and thereby no longer needing the implant. (My surgeon removed in the OR). My jaw/face looks far better now with my jaw where it should be than it ever did with the implant. Also, the implant will not help you whatsoever with your lip incompetence, not to mention your bite.

I didn't know about jaw surgery when I got my implant or I would have gone the braces/jaw surgery route to begin with. Hope this helps!