Metal Mouth Message Board

Hey all, new user here. I am going in for a consult next week.

I had braces for 3-4 years and an expander as a teenager. My bite has never felt quite right. My bite is "okay" but not really comfortable. My right jaw is longer than my left. Eating and talking pops my jaw a lot and causes pain/pressure near my ears. I have been a mouth breather since I can remember, just can't breathe properly through my nose. I've been dealing with all this for about a decade now. My face is okay, but always looked a little off...it would also be nice to correct the asymmetrical jaw line.

My insurance won't cover anything. No orthognathic, no jaw anything, no TMJ, no corrective surgery. Won't even cover the initial consult or x-ray. I'm paying all out of pocket, and if I get surgery it will definitely be through loans. So what are the questions I should be asking at this consult? I want to get my money's worth.

My first ortho never even mentioned a possible jaw problem. I feel like this could have been corrected while I was still growing, but way too late for that now

Also I am emotionally ready to get surgery. I just want to fix the problems and the uneven jaw. I don't want to spend thousands on non-surgical options just to have to get surgery anyway. How do I make this clear to the doc? Since my bite is okay and my asymmetry isn't huge, I feel like I won't be taken seriously. I don't want to go to this consult just to tell me I have TMJ and to take some pain meds.

Also, anyone else been in a similar situation--uneven jaw, pain, mouth breathing? What surgery did you end up getting?

I have the same thing. Surgery is scheduled later on this month. I've started a blog below to document the process.

I also have the same issues. Have had braces on for 6 weeks now and shooting for surgery with Gunson in the March to June time frame.

I have similar issues. My bite is off, but not terribly. My jaw is uneven, but unless I tell someone, they would never notice. That said, the TMJ pain and the asymmetry bothers me and that has been enough for me to seriously consider surgery. I am starting splint therapy first, but surgery is definitely still an option after braces (which I have already gone through, but what can you do?). I too am a mouth breather.

My surgeon focuses a lot on TMJ issues and he told me an IVRO would be best for me... that said, everyone is different! My surgery wouldn't be for another couple of years, but I have already started doing quite a bit of research and many scientific studies show that an IVRO can be helpful for TMJ issues - an internet search of "IVRO and TMJ" should give you a bunch of things to sort through. There is also the idea that simply having a well-balanced bite will relieve the muscle strain and discomfort which can also help with TMJ (and in that case, I think either form of lower jaw surgery could be beneficial).

I have a bit similar issue (but is a long story mine). It could be good if you upload a pic of your bite or your lower face to appreciate really your case. In my case, after a lot of terrible braces treatment that not only not fixed my problem, but worsed it a lot, I ended up in the jaw surgery via. Last year I had a SARPE, that fixed my mouth breathing issues A LOT (i recommend you this surgery because breathing by nose is such a good thing in comparison with mouth breathing, and I never more get sick because of cold). Now I'm waiting for my jaw surgery to fix my assimetry and my TMJ issues, that are caused by the malocclusion.

If you want to post a pic, maybe we can tell you something more accurate I guess.

Best of luck.

i have the same thing. trying to find a good surgeon.