narrow jaws

[trigeminalneuralgia]

how do you treat narrow jaws

my jaw isn't that recessed.  it's just too narrow (like the rest of me!!)

also if youre a female with no midface then having a narrow jaw is probably good, no?

[trigeminalneuralgia]

maybe its just my lower jaw thats too narrow

the roof of my mouth doesnt look like this at all

[Kristen]

Palate expander on top jaw

[trigeminalneuralgia]

does that help the lower jaw too?

anyone here had one?  were they uncomfortable

im really curious how my ortho is going to get all my bottom teeth to fit!!

[Heavyweight]

does that help the lower jaw too?

anyone here had one?  were they uncomfortable

im really curious how my ortho is going to get all my bottom teeth to fit!!

You need surgery to expand the upper and lower jaws once you finish growing. Odds are you'll probably get extractions in your lower jaw.

[trigeminalneuralgia]

i cannot get surgery because i have a connective tissue disorder and ortho told me he wouldnt pull teeth hrmmm

[Kristen]

What is connective tissue disorder?   Symptoms ?  Is there a test for it?
Don't pull teeth!

[trigeminalneuralgia]

the first ortho i went to was so ghetto i wanted to cry bc he wanted to pull my incisor!! this one i think is fairly decent, said pulling teeth would be bad

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehlers_Danlos_Syndrome

is what i have

if you can bend your thumb back to touch your wrist, you are hypermobile


if i didnt get braces when i was 8, i think my jaw would be REALLY screwy now

[trigeminalneuralgia]

the bad ortho was young too, so ill cut him a little slack but he was probably just lazy

i wouldnt want a young ortho

otoh, from my experience, young physical therapists are ideal.  my pt is maybe like a year or two older than me and she's great.  females i think are more sensitive to pain issues.

[x]

I have this as well I think, if I smile, it shows a bit too much of the back of the mouth at the corner of the smiles. Is narrow jaws something the surgeon or orthodontist will go out of their way to correct, or should I bring it up to them?

[Heavyweight]

I have this as well I think, if I smile, it shows a bit too much of the back of the mouth at the corner of the smiles. Is narrow jaws something the surgeon or orthodontist will go out of their way to correct, or should I bring it up to them?

The only way to truly widen the lower jaw involves an osteotomy down the middle and distraction osteogenesis. You'll be very hard-pressed to find a surgeon to perform this on you. However, you can camouflage a narrow lower jaw with jaw implants or grafts in the posterior body. The upper jaw can be widened with a multi-segment Lefort 1 osteotomy or SARPE, but not everyone is a candidate for this (especially if your lower jaw is narrow).

[x]

The only way to truly widen the lower jaw involves an osteotomy down the middle and distraction osteogenesis. You'll be very hard-pressed to find a surgeon to perform this on you. However, you can camouflage a narrow lower jaw with jaw implants or grafts in the posterior body. The upper jaw can be widened with a multi-segment Lefort 1 osteotomy or SARPE, but not everyone is a candidate for this (especially if your lower jaw is narrow).

Distraction osteogenesis is a generic procedure that can refer to any sort of bone right? Cause I was looking into distraction osteogenesis of the mandibular ramus, but I'm pretty sure that's not what you're referring to. Anyways I don't think I can say for sure until the teeth on the lower jaw are straightened and the lower jaw brought forward. There's no guessing what it'll look like until it happens.

I'll bring it up with him, and with firsthand access to my case he probably will be able to give me an idea.

[Heavyweight]

Distraction osteogenesis is a generic procedure that can refer to any sort of bone right? Cause I was looking into distraction osteogenesis of the mandibular ramus, but I'm pretty sure that's not what you're referring to. Anyways I don't think I can say for sure until the teeth on the lower jaw are straightened and the lower jaw brought forward. There's no guessing what it'll look like until it happens.

I'll bring it up with him, and with firsthand access to my case he probably will be able to give me an idea.

I was referring to this: http://www.accutechortho.com/sites/default/files/distrax_0.jpg

Distraction osteogenesis is rarely used for straightforward cases (such as yours). You'll likely get conventional upper, lower, and chin surgery if a maxillofacial surgeon agrees to operate on you.

[x]

I was referring to this: http://www.accutechortho.com/sites/default/files/distrax_0.jpg

Distraction osteogenesis is rarely used for straightforward cases (such as yours). You'll likely get conventional upper, lower, and chin surgery if a maxillofacial surgeon agrees to operate on you.

Ah I see, I was referring to the ramus. tdawg suggested my ramus possibly hadn't grown enough vertically, and through research I found that distraction osteogenesis is sometimes used to increase the vertical length of the ramus.

No one here seems to believe a surgeon will operate on me, I wonder why that is  

[x]

surgeons do surgery. of course one will operate on you. the question is whether there is a medical need, and if so will it win your family over and/or insurance. people who are in medical need tend to look down on those simply having their jaws cut into pieces for purely aesthetic reasons, but if that's what you want go for it.

Seems a petty thing to look down on, but if it annoys people I can stop posting about it.

I have no idea if it's even a medical need or not yet, so obviously no one here does. ENT doctor will probably be able to give me a better idea. I don't have pain, so there is that. At least not yet, seems part of it is the wear and tear that jaw misalignment can do, and I'm only 20.