Wondering what a neutral party thinks of my jaw (PICS!)

[Bingebag]

I am in serious thought about doing the jaw surgery. I am told that, its not worth get braces if I don't get the Jaw surgery because my teeth won't fit together right with my under-bite by the orthodontist. I talked to the surgeon and family members and they are all bias, so what I am asking is do you think you will see a more attractive face after the surgery. I know its superficial, but I want some dead honest opinions from people that don't need to take my feelings into account.









Trash me if need be, Do you think this surgery will improve the overall look of my face?

[Happysmiler]

Hi Bingebag,

It is really hard to give an opinion on other people, because I think the decision lies with yourself and how you feel about yourself.

I am a 39 year old female and 3.5 weeks ago had upper jaw surgery to correct my underbite. Sometimes people with underbites have upper, or lower or both together depending on their circumstances, also they sometimes have genioplasty on the chin to reduce chin depth. For me, although for years, I thought my lower jaw was too big, it turned out that my upper jaw was deficient and needed to come forward.

All I can say to you is that even now with some swelling remaining, I am overjoyed with the results, plus of course my teeth will work as they are meant to. I just feel that I have a 'normal' face, although I have always been a happy person, I feel that an underbite can make you look miserable, so now I can see big improvements all round.

I put off having surgery since my teen years, due to fear of the operation and I suppose trying to bury my head in the sand and pretend it didn't need doing, but in the end I decided to go ahead and of course now regret that I didn't do it years ago.

I found the same as you, family and old friends that know you really well are always biased and will always say that there is nothing wrong. One 'newer' friend I met on a course was quite honest with me when my jaws came up in conversation one day and it was like a breath of fresh air - I appreciated her honesty!

With regards to your pictures...... well to start with you are a great looking fella, that has to be said.
As a fellow 'ex' underbiter I can see that you have an underbite, but that may be because I was so aware of mine, that I became aware of all other jaw conditions, both underbites and overbites. Whether or not the normal 'unobsessed' person would notice or not I cannot say? I do think that Surgery would enhance your features though, if you decided to take that route.

Braces and Surgery are quite a committment and all in all can take 2 years or more for the whole process to be completed, but in my mind, it has been worth every minute!

I can honestly say that I have not read about one person who has not found the results of the surgery to be lifechanging - it can be challenging, but it is definitely do-able!

These days orthognathic surgery is a fairly common safe procedure. The preparations are very scientific and they are based on 'ideal' face measurements, so the results are always the best they can get.

It's your decision - are you unhappy with your teeth/profile regardless of what your friends and family say? All I can say is that if you are now, then you always will be (based on my own experience!) I am thrilled that I have done it.

Obviously, I am not a professional, but I hope my opinions have been helpful.

Best Wishes
Happysmiler

[phil]

Bingebag,

Hello, and welcome.

My case was similar to yours.

The only opinion about whether you should do this or not is the one that comes from you. Are you comfortable with your appearance? Do you have any functional difficulty with talking or chewing?

If after having what I like to refer to as the "heart to heart with yourself" (in other words, really sensing, just inside you just exactly how it is that you feel about doing this, and why, then begin to gather some information from professionals, such as orthodontists and surgeons.

Please feel free to ask us more questions, too. We know a lot about going through orthognathic surgery!

Be well, and at peace,

Phil

[chipmunkcheeks]

im 26 and my family was not overly supportive. they didnt care about the backlash my teeth and jaw were getting from them not touching, not to mention the tongue thrust, speech issues, mouth breathing...yeah, i had a LOT of reasons to go through with braces and surgeries...my SIL even said that she thought it was as cosmetic as my cousins boob job...with a 12 mm discrepency between my upper and lower jaw, 5 mm vertical excess, and open bite...i didnt do this for fun...

anyways, what im trying to say is, i thought very hard about why i was doing it, i didnt even realize that my face was going to change THAT much, because i didnt think it was THAT awful. well, when i held my jaw a certain way and faked a smile 24/7. so really the reason i went into it was to have my teeth touch. i wanted a jaw like everyone else's. and i felt like i deserved one, and thatclearly my dentists as a child did a MAJOR disservice to me and my mom, she trusted them to tell her that something needed to be done, and they never said a thing. it wasnt until i was about 22 that a new dentist said something. and that is where the journey began. the whole comestic side of this came in secondary. though, i am very pleased to have a more aesthetic look naturally. all of the pictures i have seen of before/afters the person has looked amazing comparatively speaking. here are some examples. though, you shouldnt do it for vanity alone, it is just a "perk" of the process; like a reward for going through all of the pain, hassle, etc, etc.

my before/after-
viewtopic.php?t=27219

viewtopic.php?t=27242

viewtopic.php?t=26147

viewtopic.php?t=27315

[fromjersey]

I always like to see a profile view because it gives a good picture of the bite and the jaws. Do you have any profile photos?
Helen

[Bingebag]

I always like to see a profile view because it gives a good picture of the bite and the jaws. Do you have any profile photos?
Helen

I had to take a few with my SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM HEY THERE SPAMMER HA HA seconds ago, because any picture I have ever seen of myself in profile has been deleted, because I seriously hate them so much.

[phil]

Bingebag,

I had a very strange feeling looking at your profile--as though I was looking at myself from quite a few years ago (I'm 43 now). It sort of freaked me out a bit, actually!

I'm just thinking about what you said in your last post about pictures of yourself, and I understand that feeling. Definitely been there.

Some people think I look really different (and better). Some people hardly notice. It's been an interesting exercise in seeing how people read a face.

I love my new face. I loved my old face.

I will say that having this surgery does provide the possibility of you being able to make big changes about how you feel about yourself. It does not do the whole job, however. My experience is that with a strong sense of who you are now, and loving and accepting yourself for who you are now, with all your perceived flaws (believe me, I've been there), you will walk away from this experience of undergoing orthognathic surgery with a more positive experience. Also, know that how other people perceive you is largely determined by how you project yourself, and feel about yourself. I cannot help noticing, by the way, how happy you look with your friends in those earlier photos! It seems already that you are a person who projects a lot of positive energy. Seems to me that your friends might agree!

Definitely worth a trip to talk to a counselor about. I wish I had before my surgery, although everything turned out all right in the end. It would have made things a lot easier to have talked through some of those issues before I did it.

Be well, and at peace,

Phil

[Thathrill]

Here's what I think. Its tough for people on the outside of our situation to truly understand what we are going through everyday. For me I was always embarrassed by my smile and would never show my teeth. My underbite along with some gaps and crossbite issues embarrassed me. My family, friends, and coworkers never really understood why I elected to have surgery even when I explained the benefits of getting surgery and then the consequences of not having surgery. I don't blame my friends for their opinions as I am guilty of it. It just doesn't seem as bad as it really is I guess.

So I guess what I am saying is, if you are truly not happy with your bite and doctors are recommending a procedure and you want to be happy then go for it. It all comes down to how you feel and not what others think.

[gatorseh]

Looking at the dead-on photos of your face you first posted, I do not see anything that looks "off" or not right. From the profile, I can see the difference with your jaw though. It's hard to say if you'll be more attractive after, I think that is your perception. People always say to me, "Oh man I don't see anything wrong with your jaw-- you look great!" but every photo I look at I just see my jaw and my smile screaming at me, "I'm messed up!" Unless the surgery makes my jaw more crooked (which I'm promised it won't, haha) I feel like the aesthetics from after will be worth it. My first priority is getting my teeth to touch and the constant pain to hopefully go away, but I won't lie and say I'm not excited to see how my face will look with a "normal" looking jaw.

[fromjersey]

On the subject of bias. I know many family members are biased, out of fear or ignorance. My own was like that. Some have reasons for not wanting us to get surgery. In the world of literature and psychology we hear of mates and family members not wanting us to look better; we might leave them for somebody else or might make them look bad. And we do know humans often have unconscious motivations. Those with biases can include our selves, because some of us have reasons for not wanting to look better. We do have counselors, writers and psychologists who deal with the uncomfortable parts of our lives we don't like to face.

I don't agree that many oral surgeons or orthodontists are biased. They want our teeth and jaws to meet properly, and if that so happens to look better, so be it. We live in a capitalist society so they get paid for their work. I think prognathism should be corrected not only for cosmetic reasons, but for the sake of our occlusion, our breathing, our speech, our temperomandibular joints and other problems that reduce the quality of our lives.

I think you would look great and have healthier jaws and teeth if you go for surgery.
Helen

[suetemi]

to the OP, just curious since you haven't brought it up, do you feel any physical discomfort because of your bite? Or do you have habits, like eating habits or something, that you notice other people don't do? It seems the cosmetic is more important to you at this point, but maybe if you find out more about the functional (present or future) aspects it will help you in your decision.

[Bingebag]

to the OP, just curious since you haven't brought it up, do you feel any physical discomfort because of your bite? Or do you have habits, like eating habits or something, that you notice other people don't do? It seems the cosmetic is more important to you at this point, but maybe if you find out more about the functional (present or future) aspects it will help you in your decision.

Everything is functional. I have been told by about 7-8 dentists, orthodontist etc. over the year, that down the road my teeth will be wearing away because of how they sit on each other due to my bite.

It really is mostly aesthetic. No one will put braces on me unless I elect for the surgery, because they feel it will be worthless. I meet with my surgeon in a week and a half, and will be getting down into the nitty gritty about the surgery and I will post here about it.

I appreciate all the posts. Thanks for helping me out.

[Arvensis]

Are your teeth end to end? or is your underbite significant? I think you and I were similar from the side preop, might take a gander at my befores and afters to see what filling in the upper does. Only think is that I had a bit more chin to start with than you. You can also see the filled in effect on my face from the front too, looks a lot less sharp-featured than before.

Anyhoo, good luck on figuring it out:) If it's functional, it's worth it for sure. if just cosmetic, I think it's worth it but that's very much my personal opinion and as such the decision on that end is in your hands alone

[tortor]

I am in the same boat as you....although I do have some functional issues and the chance of having my teeth wear down faster than normal, I chose surgery for mostly aesthetic reasons. That being said, I think you wanting the surgery for mostly aesthetic reasons is completely legitimate.

I have an underbite and although most people tell me its "not noticable", its all that I see when I look in the mirror. IMO, I think you should go ahead with braces and the surgery, because I know how it feels to really want to improve your looks. Moving your upper jaw forward I think would enhance your already good looks.

-Tori

[fromjersey]

Bingebag: If several orthodontists told you that further down the line your teeth will wear down because of your bite, isn't that functional? If so, then it seems that getting surgery goes beyond cosmetics. Has anybody taken any photos of your bite?
Helen