Metal Mouth Message Board

21 years old, no pain or TMJ, slight aching of lower jaw occasionally. i have an open bite, an edge to edge bite, and a crossbite on one side. my midlines are off on both jaws, I have retrognathia of both jaws and microgenia and a steep occlusal plane. my left side is where the crossbite occurs and it's evident that the teeth are wearing down at a faster rate on that side than the other. my maxilla is really narrow and as a result tooth crowding

is jaw surgery worth all the risks and money if I'm not experiencing debilitating pain (yet)?

If anyone wants pics I can pm them, confidentiality is important to me.

Hello! I think that is very hard to say..... Maybe you can consult an ortho and ask him how important this is to fix? What problems may you experience if you don't fix it? How do you feel about it yourself? Are you happy with the way you look or are you very selfconscious about yout teeth?
If you are not happy with your teeth and changes are high that you may get functional problems in the future, I would say go for it now. You are still so young, you will quickly heal from surgery and you have a whole lifetime ahead of you, so it may be worth the investment.
Is jaw surgery the only option or is it also possible to fix your problems with braces alone, at least to a great extent? You are 21 years, and it may worth trying to expand your palate without surgery, although it is definitely not sure it will still work. If you wait for a couple of years, it surely won't work anymore.
So, I would say, if your teeth bother you or you may get problems in the future, go for it now!
I wish you very good luck with your decision, keep us updated!

[quote="Anna5"]Hello! I think that is very hard to say..... Maybe you can consult an ortho and ask him how important this is to fix? What problems may you experience if you don't fix it? How do you feel about it yourself? Are you happy with the way you look or are you very selfconscious about yout teeth?
If you are not happy with your teeth and changes are high that you may get functional problems in the future, I would say go for it now. You are still so young, you will quickly heal from surgery and you have a whole lifetime ahead of you, so it may be worth the investment.
Is jaw surgery the only option or is it also possible to fix your problems with braces alone, at least to a great extent? You are 21 years, and it may worth trying to expand your palate without surgery, although it is definitely not sure it will still work. If you wait for a couple of years, it surely won't work anymore.
So, I would say, if your teeth bother you or you may get problems in the future, go for it now!
I wish you very good luck with your decision, keep us updated![/quote]
Hey thanks for the response

I was told by the one surgeon I saw that, yes, jaw surgery is the only way to correct an asymmetric mandible. I went the orthodontic approach during my childhood/teen years and ended up frustrated more than anything, as the tongue thrust habit I have undid all the work that took 10 years. I also continue to mouth breathe at night, where my mouth just hangs open

I definitely feel its a now or never situation, the younger you get it the better right? Aesthetics-wise I have my good and bad days, you know? I really look pretty average to the undiscerning eye despite the very obvious malocclusion, but I think surgery would give a nice improvement to the lower face. I am self-conscious about my smile and prefer to grin, because I don't like the narrowness and buccal corner show

To Smiles10 I can see by email that you PM'd me but I can't check my messages?

Also I meant buccal corridor, not corner

It depends. My orthodontist who specializes in TMJ told me that if I didn't do anything to fix my bite to help my TMJ, that I could possibly end up not only a dental handicap but a medical one as well. The way he saw it was that overtime the joints give out and then you have to get the joints replaced if they further deteriorate. He said by interrupting the process and fixing the bite, it could make the process slower giving me more time with my joints and maybe I would never need joint replacement or I could push it out much more further. Given, this is my medical case, not yours. But you should get many opinions from top doctors to see if you can get most to agree on a treatment plan.