Do I Need Jaw Surgery?

If you have a skeletal jaw imbalance, your life maybe affected in so many ways.
There will be good days and there will be bad days. Some days everything in the list below affects you. Other days, only a few points do and in varying degrees of severity. This is a very common experience of patients with skeletal jaw imbalances. It is a personal journey where at some point, you go, ‘Ok, I’ve enough of this. I need to get my jaw checked out and fixed!’

When the skeletal jaw imbalance becomes so severe that it is beyond the boundaries of Camouflage Orthodontics, corrective jaw surgery is certainly an option. If your quality of life is affected by your jaw imbalance, then yes, corrective jaw surgery is a treatment to consider.

If you have skeletal jaw imbalance, you may identify with some or all the following points:

  1. Due to aesthetic concerns, your emotions and self-confidence is affected;
  2. Sometimes you have to change your head and jaw posture to hide the jaw imbalance. You may tilt your head a certain way; push your short lower jaw forward or tense jaw muscles to keep lips together. Over time, this is tiring and can lead to jaw muscle spasm, a tired neck and stiff joints.
  3. You can’t chew well and eating can be painful when you accidentally bite your cheek or gum.
  4. Lips and cheeks may develop painful ulcers as a traumatic bite develops from teeth that cannot meet due to the underlying jaw deformity.
  5. Your speech is affected because air escapes awkwardly through jaws that don’t line up.
  6. Your upper and lower lips may be difficult to close, resulting in an open mouth with dry, red, angry gums.
  7. You may be unable to get a good night’s result due to Sleep Apnea and always feel tired during the day.

Corrective jaw surgery is a treatment option that involves your family too. It is an important decision so do bring them for your first consultation with us. We would be happy to answer your questions and theirs too.

Good news! A small group of patients with an underbite or crooked bite, (often associated with a long jaw or crooked jaw), may actually look worse than they really are. This is due to a special situation caused by a premature contact interference from a malpositioned tooth that causes affected patients to posture/ move their jaw forwards or to the side to achieve a better bite! This is great news as their ‘special bite’ is an indication that their jaw imbalance may not be that bad after all and jaw surgery in Singapore may not be necessary. In such cases, alternatives such as Camouflage Orthodontics should be considered.

If your child is young and shows signs of skeletal jaw imbalance, their growth potential is certainly an advantage! Get them screened as early as possible to avoid the need for jaw surgery when the problem becomes worse in time. The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that children be screened by an Orthodontist at age 7. Interceptive Orthodontics and Growth modification may nip the problem at its early stage. So take action early and get your kids diagnosed by our Braces Specialist.

Call us at 6797 9797 for appointment!