It's been a long time since I last posted here - I've travelled the world since.
My last post was in regards to corrective surgery for overbite. I had a consltation coming up and was asking a few questions before hand.
Turns out I chickened out at the consultation and left the problem unsolved.
The problem is - I have an overbite just minor enough that I never had fixing it suggested to me. However, this gives me a weak jaw, and coupled with a fairly large family nose, I percieve this as having a HUGE effect on how attractive I could be, and I regularly have bouts of depression regarding my appearance.
For the past few years I have jutted my jaw forward consciously, which improves my appearance, however, this has led to further jaw problems - pain in the muscles that connect my jaw to my skull and headaches.
It ruined a trip abroad I worked hard to pay for, and that was the final straw, now I'm getting it done - period. And the nose too I hope.
I've got another consultation in a week or two, and I need some advice before I go, about what to expect etc.
My biggest concern the the appearance side of things, but there are health ones too - the NHS will fix the overbite, but by doing so, will this improve the appearance of my jaw? Currently it is positioned too far back in proportion to my upper jaw and appears to be "too high at the back", if ou know what I mean - so it slopes down dramatically.
Does correcting the overbite involve realigning the jaw further forward, and more horizontal from the profile perspective?
When I close my teeth the top row overlaps 75% of the row beneath, and I can feel my jaw aligned diagonally along my upper jaw - this puts a lot of pressure on the molars at the back.
When my front teeth meet in the position they would in a normal mouth, there are huge gaps between where the two rows of teeth meet, so much that I can fit the entire end of my tongue through.
To correct these things I can't imagine them not having to realign the teeth with braces and realigning the upper jaw.
Now, my upper jaw is attached to my freaking skull - what on earth does upper jaw realignment consist of?!
And so basically, what are the aesthetic effects of overbite correction on the face?
Finally, about braces - typically how long does one have to wear them for a mild overbite, and why are people so negative towards Invisalign?
This whole thing is causing my extreme distress - I'm so unhappy with my appearance and I'm hoping that fixing my overbite will restore some of the awkward asymmetry ann imabalance I percieve when I look at pictures of myself.
Back again
Moderator: bbsadmin
Thanks for such a helpful post, I'm going to spend some time reading through it.
To clear up a few things though, I don't think my chin itself is too small, just that my jaw is set to far back.
It'd be a shame if I couldn't get Ivisalign, but ofc it's not a deal breaker.
I was wondering, how commonly do they lower the back of the jaw in relation to the front, to level out the horizontal base of the face? Those x-rays you showed show exactly what I was talking about - my jaw feel angled to sharply donward, and for both comfort and aesthetics, getting a small rotation would be nice.
Finally, is there any chance they would have to "widen" my jaw? I have heard people with these sorts of problems have had their jaw either widened or shortened, but I don't know whether I should anticipate it.
Thanks again!!
To clear up a few things though, I don't think my chin itself is too small, just that my jaw is set to far back.
It'd be a shame if I couldn't get Ivisalign, but ofc it's not a deal breaker.
I was wondering, how commonly do they lower the back of the jaw in relation to the front, to level out the horizontal base of the face? Those x-rays you showed show exactly what I was talking about - my jaw feel angled to sharply donward, and for both comfort and aesthetics, getting a small rotation would be nice.
Finally, is there any chance they would have to "widen" my jaw? I have heard people with these sorts of problems have had their jaw either widened or shortened, but I don't know whether I should anticipate it.
Thanks again!!
Sorry I can't be as helpful as our wonderful Meryaten (she is amazing), but I do want to welcome you to the board. Lots of us have chickend out a time or two, so don't let that bother you one little bit! You have a lot of great questions - make sure to take your list with you when you go see the doctor. Can't wait to hear how you consultation goes.
My god, I can so relate to your posts. I go through stages where I barely think about my jaw at all but at other times it really bothers me, and like you there have been times when I've been doing something that's meant to be a lot of fun but it's been completely ruined because of niggling thoughts that just won't go away...
What I would say is if you live in the UK (like me), ALWAYS GO TO YOUR APPOINTMENTS!! Seriously, it is such a bad idea not to go because waiting lists tend to be ridiculously long and once you miss an appointment you're sent straight to the back again. And my second piece of advice would be not to try and guess what is wrong. We can't tell what your problem is or what you need from a few words on an internet forum. Do your research, as when I went to the surgeon he kept talking about upper jaw surgery as I show some gum when I smile (in his words, "not really a problem on its own but if we're going to start messing around with the jaws we might as well do the whole lot") and since then I've read about how much it can change your cheeks, nose, forehead etc and I'm really not keen at all - if I'd known that at the time I would have discussed it more and not just blindly accepted it. Get a notebook and use it to write down any question that comes into your head. Then make sure you ask them ALL! I really, really wish I'd done this before my first consultation because I'm always thinking of things I should have asked and discussed with the guy I saw, and now I won't see him again until December (I last saw him a year ago...)
Finally, be prepared to wait, if you're planning on relying on the NHS for any of this. The waiting list tends to be at least two years from the initial consultation before the treatment even starts. I'm not trying to disappoint you and obviously it's worth thinking positive, but I spent all my time before my consultation thinking of ways it might be over quickly but the harsh reality is it probably won't be. Good luck, I hope everything goes well.
What I would say is if you live in the UK (like me), ALWAYS GO TO YOUR APPOINTMENTS!! Seriously, it is such a bad idea not to go because waiting lists tend to be ridiculously long and once you miss an appointment you're sent straight to the back again. And my second piece of advice would be not to try and guess what is wrong. We can't tell what your problem is or what you need from a few words on an internet forum. Do your research, as when I went to the surgeon he kept talking about upper jaw surgery as I show some gum when I smile (in his words, "not really a problem on its own but if we're going to start messing around with the jaws we might as well do the whole lot") and since then I've read about how much it can change your cheeks, nose, forehead etc and I'm really not keen at all - if I'd known that at the time I would have discussed it more and not just blindly accepted it. Get a notebook and use it to write down any question that comes into your head. Then make sure you ask them ALL! I really, really wish I'd done this before my first consultation because I'm always thinking of things I should have asked and discussed with the guy I saw, and now I won't see him again until December (I last saw him a year ago...)
Finally, be prepared to wait, if you're planning on relying on the NHS for any of this. The waiting list tends to be at least two years from the initial consultation before the treatment even starts. I'm not trying to disappoint you and obviously it's worth thinking positive, but I spent all my time before my consultation thinking of ways it might be over quickly but the harsh reality is it probably won't be. Good luck, I hope everything goes well.
Thanks for the replies guys.
Well, I hope I don't have to wait a full 2 years - I was expecting a year :O I guess it depends where you are, but hey, if it takes that long, it takes that long.
Well, I gues I'm ready for the consultation - my dentist was supposed to fax a confirmation to the hospital yesterday, as my first one expired as it arrived while I was away.
Well, I hope I don't have to wait a full 2 years - I was expecting a year :O I guess it depends where you are, but hey, if it takes that long, it takes that long.
Well, I gues I'm ready for the consultation - my dentist was supposed to fax a confirmation to the hospital yesterday, as my first one expired as it arrived while I was away.