Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi everyone,

I have a complete underbite when my molars meet (when I bite down), the lower teeth overlaps the upper teeth.
However when I am normal and not biting down, my facial appearance doesn't show any signs of an underbite.
I am just wondering for people who undergo surgery, is it just their normal facial appearance that bothers them or its actually just their appearance when they are biting down?
Also I can bite down where my front teeth meet but my molars don't, do I have that much of an underbite in that case? (I don't know whats a proper bite; do the molars need to meet?)

Also is this kind of surgery optional? Like would my ortho force me to undergo surgery if I don't care about my underbite since its not visible under normal circumstances although it is distinct when I show my teeth while biting?

Thanks a lot

I'm having surgery because i'm not happy with my underbite at all. I also have a 3-5 mm crossbite.

When I close my mouth, my underbite and asymmetry gets very pronounced.

I'm so tired of adjusting my lips trying to compensate for this.

Of course this surgery is optional.

If it doesn't bother you in any way, why do it?

It's my dream to have this surgery done.

So you look normal when your not biting down? i.e. how you look most of the times besides eating?

I know what you mean about the profile looking normal with your underbite.

Surgery is of course OPTIONAL!
I was going to get surgery for a gumy smile and overbite, but opted out to at the last moment before I got my braces on. Now im happy with my decision.

But if you DO get the surgery then they will have to make your underbite worse for you. It seems so minor that braces would work perfectly fine with elastics

[quote="BracedSurgeryStudent"]I know what you mean about the profile looking normal with your underbite.

Surgery is of course OPTIONAL!
I was going to get surgery for a gumy smile and overbite, but opted out to at the last moment before I got my braces on. Now im happy with my decision.

But if you DO get the surgery then they will have to make your underbite worse for you. It seems so minor that braces would work perfectly fine with elastics [/quote]


That's a common misconception that underbite gets worse before surgery. It all depends how crooked your teeth are. In my case, it actually has gotten better.

[quote="vincent168"]So you look normal when your not biting down? i.e. how you look most of the times besides eating?[/quote]

Well, yea. If I don't close my mouth, its hard to see. If i close my mouth and relax my lips, it's pronounced.

deepbeep then you shoudl just not get the surgery then.

I had an open bite, and I thought i looked pretty 'normal' already so why mess with my face?

Like all surgeons they will tell you it IS optional... but my surgeon turned to me 1 year later and basically said look - your teeth have started wearing away much faster because of your bad bite. By the time you're 30, your molars will be destroyed and you could develop TMJ.

My point is, I was initially so focused on aesthetics.

He told me when I got older, I would regret not having surgery and by that time, I'd be older / have slower and riskier recovery etc.


So here I am now, I did the surgery. I fixed my overbite. It's over and done with and I think it looks great (even though the change in my look is pretty minimal. I think Underbiters have the best looking changes).


Think carefully for the sake of your teeth, not for the sake of your looks.

my backbit is perfect my ortho told me and its jsut the jaws like my lower one did not grow its retrudded and upper had an overgrowth. So I tihnk tis not even worth messing up the perfectly health back bite

BracedSurgeryStudent wrote:deepbeep then you shoudl just not get the surgery then.

There is more than that to it. I have pretty bad crossbite too.

They have millions of different appliances in orthodontics that can help that. Some you may have never even heard of.

I have a severe underbite. It has gotten worse as I have gotten older. Surgery is really my last option. It had gotten to the point where I have constant jaw pain with migraines. This was everyday. I was seen by several specialists, used specialized mouth guards, ect... I was told by everyone right from the start that surgery was really my best option to achieve optimal results.

Your lucky, I wish I had another option.

When you say the underbite gets worse, do you mean the orthodontist would purposely move your lower teeth outwards and upper teeth inwards so that the surgery can compensate for the underbite more?
I've always thought my underbite was simply dental i.e. my teeth has always been bent in the wrong way to create that underbite look.

At what age does it make it impossible to use elastics or other orthodontic appliances to fix bites?

They just straighten your teeth so that the 'curvature' of your teeth will match post surgery, so yes sometimes this means your teeth will curve out if they have previously been curving in.

Underbites, overbites, openbites can all be fixed via 'orthodontic appliances' but only if they're minor. Trying to force it on a more severe bite, sometimes it can give a 50% satisfactory result, (ie: An underbite can be fixed, but patient might be unhappy with the way their chin juts out and would've preferred surgery to move teeth+jaw back for a nicer profile). Sometimes there is also a high risk of relapse which means alot of time wasted and having to return to jaw surgery (another common case!)

Jaw surgery is scary, and I remember the first time I consulted, I looked for every other method possible under the sun just to escape it.

But after a while, I decided that my surgeon was right. I could've spent time+money with different techniques that might not have worked/relapsed. I'm super glad I did surgery, and I recommend it for those with 'severe' bite problems, such as 3mm or more gaps that are definitely caused by the jaw and not the teeth.