Any alternatives to double jaw surgery?

[behappy]

I have always been somewhat bothered by my protruding mouth especially when I look at pictures of my profile view. When I was 20 I did make an appointment with an orthodontist who advised me that I should consider the twin block appliance. I then seen another orthodontist to confirm this, he advised it would be a waste of time and money and in essence I needed double jaw surgery. At the time i was a student and my health insurance did not cover such a procedure so I left it and did no more about it. 16 years later , i have now revisited this issue. I went to see an orthodontist and asked him about double jaw surgery , he said that my upper jaw would be moved upwards and backwards while the lower jaw will be moved forwards. He said the changes would be quite drastic and that they could never be altered when they were done. He did not refer me to a surgeon which i was hoping at the time he would do. I have no functional problems or pain and can breathe easily through the nose, lip incompetence is really the only issue at the moment. I have an overbite/overjet but it does not really bother me. Are there are alternatives to jaw surgery that could improve my area of concern for a cosmetic reason?
http://clarec.imgur.com/all/

[Jessesgirl09]

I always say opinions, opinions opinions! Most consultations are free and every ortho practices different. I was told by my first Dr. halfway through my treatment that a double jaw surgery was my only option for a class III malocclusion and I was absolutely against it. It's expensive, it comes with high risks such as nerve damage and major swelling, and your facial profile changes! I had a second opinion and my new ortho is fixing my problem with a tooth extraction and elastics. I've already notice improvements! They might not be 100% but I'm content with that. Some issues can only be treated with surgery unfortunately, but it doesn't hurt to get at least one more opinion. But if you're content with the way you were born that's okay too! I would research more too if you do consider surgery. Best of luck.

[survenant]

I asked the same question and the answer was "it depends".

In my case, they had to advance the upper jaw 7 mm, my teeth were really compensated, I had no choice but to have the jaw surgery. I don't regret it one minute, I can breathe easily with my nose now, a much-needed improvement.

[ivonne]

I think it depends of course.
If your issue is slight you might not "need" it to survive or you can survive without it, actually many people can.
Can it fix your problem? if the problems are due to the bone I don't see how anything (unless some slight issues yes) would fix it except
to fix the bone and that's Maxillofacial surgery.

I was also told by one Ortho (western dental! horrible) that to fix my bite and problems they would remove
4 teeth!.. actually they did not even care about my face, profile or even surgery.
They just wanted me to pay and get my teeth "straight" (their only focus) remove 4 teeth to get it done fast (I think).

Well... removing ANY teeth will also change your face.. and not always for the better.
I think moving the bones creates much better face symmetry than actualling changing it.
I see it as moving the bones to their "correct" place... and that changes things but its ultimately your
natural face and how it was meant to look like (just adjusted to fit as its suppose to).

Removing teeth changes (narrows) the gums or mouth overrall changing your face to what it was NOT meant to be
as we are not meant to have 4 teeth less (in my case).

I went to two other Orthos who said they "might" need to remove 1 teeth but I am almost done with braces
and no teeth removal was needed.
My lower jaw clearly did not grow enough to fit my upper and there's nothing they can do.


So it "depends" but also beware of those who say they can "fix" it.. do a lot of research and make your decisions.

[survenant]

@ivonne

I had 4 premolars removed + bi-jaw surgery. In some cases both are needed. In my case, the lower jaw was too narrow for my teeth.