Metal Mouth Message Board

Hello all,
I have a question... I have a slightly retruded upper jaw, of which I am VERY self conscious...I know, if its only slight, i shouldnt worry about it, but i have decided I have to do something as it upsets meZ. An ortho has told me that we could address this using reverse pull headgear (facemask, maxillary protraction headgear, whatever you call it!) However, I have read on the net, etc, that its not possible to advance the maxilla at this age (23, female,if that has any bearing..) without surgery, and I really could nt bear the thought of that. Is the ortho misguided or could an improvement be possible without surgery?
Thanks!
Hopefully,
p

I have heard the same thing as well. I have an overbite/overjet and I am going to be getting the herbst appliance in about a week. I have heard different things from different people and I would say go with what your ortho says, they know best for your situation. Anyways, I would rather have an appliance first and then go through surgery if it dosent work!

Good luck to you!

Also, a memeber named headgearjoe had headgear and maybe you could pm him with your concerns.

-Katiebug

I am almost certain that a RPHG cannot actually advance your upper jaw if you're 23. But it can pull the upper teeth forward in relation to the lower and help to camouflage a slight underbite.
Another member here, NotBob1 had a RPHG for the same problem, and had good results with it.

I've discussed a rphg with my ortho. I need to increase my overbite and change molar relationships prior to surgery. It would be used to pull my upper arch forward.

Here's what I believe is factual. RPHG would probably serve only to pull your teeth forward at your age. It would only pull your jaw forward if you were still growing. At 23 that is doubtful. The question is whether your underbite (top teeth behind lower) is a result of an upper jaw that is too short or if your teeth are too far back in the arch. If your teeth are too far back, RPHG or even micro screws might correct the problem. If your jaw is too short, RPHG would only camouflage the problem.

Either way you go, ask about long-term stability. A camouflaged final result may lead to other problems that will result in the need for orthodontics at a later stage in your life.

Good luck, these are hard decisions you need to make.

Mike

and ...Thanks everyone for your responses...Hmm, indeed iBorg, I do have some hard decisions to make. It i worth mentioning though that of the four orthos I saw, only the aforementioned one mentioned the retruded maxilla... I have a severe bilateral crossbite...I have also heard that this type of bite could contribute to the 'flat face' appearance of which I am so self conscious, so possibly that ortho was confusing the two at a glance, or that the others didn't think it was worth mentioning surgery,as I have a tmj problem?? Also, it seems to me that this flat faced-ness worsened very suddenly, it felt like my jaw had slipped out of place, ie backwards, but thats impossible, right??
Sorry for all the questions, but I am very confused and really do appreciate your responses! Thanks everyone
Becha!

Sorry for all the questions, but I am very confused and really do appreciate your responses!

First off, many of us here have benefited from the collective wisdom of the group. Don't apologize. Consider it a loan. In nine months when someone asks a question that you can help with or need a shoulder, be there. The better members of this group have helped countless others. This isn't an easy process. Everyone seems to go through a bit of rough time in this process. We tend to be a great group for a virtual hug.

You mentioned only one ortho mentioned surgery for what you feel is a retruded upper jaw. Others orthos may have seen this and felt that not treating it would give a reasonable result. At your age, you owe it to yourself to get the best result possible. I've went through at least twenty years of feeling self concious of my teeth. I truly think I'd interacted better with people over that period if I'd not been ashamed of my teeth. You recogonise this issue and should deal with it.

Another thing to consider is that the other three orthos may recognize that either headgear or the mention of surgery would drive potential patients away. As an adult, braces are an atypical thing. We associate braces with geeky teens. Headgear adds to the geek factor. Many adults would refuse headgear straight out. The mere suggestion of surgery would cause many adults to refuse to consider orthodontic treatment.

I'd approach the problem this way. Get three more consults. Tell the ortho your concerns including your flat facial appearance and the fact that your jaw seems to have receded all of a sudden. Make them aware that your concerns are more than just your teeth but rather your overall facial appearance. After that, listen carefully to their treatment plans and their expected outcomes. Then make an intelligent decision.

Good luck,

Mike

Hey,
I was in a fairly similar situation that you're in.
I'm currently a 21.
I wore reverse pull headgear to correct my underbite at age 19/20
and slowly but surely it worked.
every person is different
and if i were you i'd give it a shot as opposed to going for the surgery.
don't expect "supermodel" results - but if you are fully commited to wearing the headgear while sleeping, or at home watching tv or doing the laundry every little bit counts and i'm sure you'll notice a remarkable difference.
hope that somewhat helped or gave you reassurance

Hey,
I was in a fairly similar situation that you're in.
I'm currently a 21.
I wore reverse pull headgear to correct my underbite at age 19/20
and slowly but surely it worked.
every person is different
and if i were you i'd give it a shot as opposed to going for the surgery.
don't expect "supermodel" results - but if you are fully commited to wearing the headgear while sleeping, or at home watching tv or doing the laundry every little bit counts and i'm sure you'll notice a remarkable difference.
hope that somewhat helped or gave you reassurance

Thanks so much everyone. There's a jungle of info out there and its overwhelming.. it's great to hear sane, human empathetic advice!! Hugs to you all! I would like to avoid surgery if at all possible, the retrusion (?) is quite slight, but enough to bug me though..also I would be worried to undergo surgery in case it could exacerbate my TMJ problem. I keep hearing all this depressing talk- your upper jaw cant be developed without surgery, then I need surgery again to realign my jaws...grr! And I'm not exactly in a country where the dental facilities are advanced as in the US or UK.

Actually, referring to my previous post, I said I thought my jaw had receded slightly- is this possible or was I imagining it??
Thanks everyone
Hugs

aww no problem.
hmm, maybe you were imagining. sometimes when you think about something a lot(and/or are self-concious about it), it seems to become magnified and appear alot worse than it truly is in reality.
thats from experience.

Thanks everyone.
Ps starryeyed fairy, did your teeth move forward, or your whole jaw?? Had another consulatation with another ortho-who said the same thing!! ie that he could use reverse pull. i am really confused now.The appliance he proposes to use stimulates bone growth in the maxilla (ALF appliance) and he said when used in conjunction with headgear it shold work. Is he crazy? are all orthos in my country just really badly trained or something?!!

i'm quite positive my jaw moved forward
before it was completely flat
and now it has some body to it
the teeth are definitely feeling like a normal bite now
but again i do have to warn you, you wont get "top model" results (at least i didnt)
i got a subtle, ever so subtle change
but apparently the contraption i wore (reverse headgear) made my entire face look different according to my ortho
my mom noticed a slight change too
but other than that no ones really brought it to my attention

**what i meant to say was that
my upper lip area *upper mouth*
was completely flat
and that the headgear brought some definition to it

I'm glad you had good results! After long consideration, im still unsure as t what to do. is it impossible to move it forward as the bones have all fused together or that the bones need to be growing for them to be moveable? is it similar in that way to the controversial adult palatal expansion?? cos if it is im hopeful, my dentist showed me some amazing non-surgical adult palatal expansion cases...

I am soo depressed right now!