Looking for opinions

[designatedmilhouse]

Hey everyone, just looking for thoughts.

When I completely relax my face my mouth hangs open a bit (pic 1) - I'm a mouth breather. If I close my mouth and breathe through my nose (pic 2) it feels unnatural and my jaw will start to feel strained if I keep it in that position too long (although my teeth seem to come together fine). Not to mention breathing through my nose feels relatively 'closed-off' compared to breathing through my mouth, especially when sleeping on my back.

I never really had a problem with this but I've recently learned that my mouth should naturally close when I relax my face, and that nose breathing is the norm. So yep, just interested in your thoughts in regards to this. Always felt my jaw was a bit receded, would that be the cause of it? Sorry if this is the wrong section.



And I wasn't out today, so I didn't shave 

[Cmonster]

Hi coolusername,

You are probably class II bite wise and many of us are- it is VERY hard to see much (pics are quite dark)... What prompted you to look for jaw surgery? Are you in braces now or had braces in the past?

[designatedmilhouse]

Hi coolusername,

You are probably class II bite wise and many of us are- it is VERY hard to see much (pics are quite dark)... What prompted you to look for jaw surgery? Are you in braces now or had braces in the past?

Sorry about the brightness. Haven't had braces before. Not necessarily looking for surgery but rather more info, specifically regarding my mouth hanging open when relaxed or the relative difficulty of nose breathing compared to mouth breathing. Posted in this section because my lower jaw is relatively receded compared to the upper, but If I close my teeth together they seem to sit properly (although feels unnatural/strained in this position). Again, I'm not really sure if anything's 'wrong' but I've got no frame of reference so just looking for thoughts.

[sanddunes]

Hey,

I think you could definitely benefit from jaw surgery and probably genioplasty also.  Your mandible is clearly recessed and you have lip incompetence.  Have you gone to any surgeons yet for a consult?  Do you have any insurance?

[designatedmilhouse]

Hey,

I think you could definitely benefit from jaw surgery and probably genioplasty also.  Your mandible is clearly recessed and you have lip incompetence.  Have you gone to any surgeons yet for a consult?  Do you have any insurance?

Nah, haven't went to any surgeons or anything like that. And I live in the UK. Not really sure where to go about it.

Do you think jaw surgery would sort out the problems I've mentioned above? I'm also starting to wonder if I have some form of sleep apnoea after reading some of the symptoms   

[sanddunes]

Nah, haven't went to any surgeons or anything like that. And I live in the UK. Not really sure where to go about it.

Do you think jaw surgery would sort out the problems I've mentioned above? I'm also starting to wonder if I have some form of sleep apnoea after reading some of the symptoms 

1.  If you are breathing through your mouth mostly, it could be that you have a small airway.  It is possible that jaw surgery could give you a bigger airway and enable you to breathe more naturally through your nose.  Also, you might want to have an ENT check to see if you have a deviated septum.  That could also effect your breathing in a drastic way.

2.  Your bite is probably off.  Even if it "seems ok" to you, if closing your mouth feels akward, there is probably something going on with your bite.  As one of the above posters mentioned, based on your profile I would guess you have a Class II bite, but of course I would need to see a photo to know for sure.  Do you have a gummy smile?  Do you have an openbite?  A surgeon should be able to tell you all this info

3.  If you have a skeletal issue, i.e. your mandible failed to grow to it's normal size, then muscle exercises alone probably won't help you.  Just my opinion, but if you fix the underlying cause of your muscle strain, then your muscles should be able to function the way they were intended to and they should get stronger

4.  If you live in England, you probably have the NHS in which case jaw surgery might not cost you anything.  If your bite is off, it seems like many posters in England have gotten their surgery paid for. 

I think overall it is definitely worth going to a surgeon for a consult and go from there.

[sanddunes]

Here is a rough photoshop of what jaw surgery might be able to do for you.  In the second photo I tried to close your lips some to simulate how jaw surgery could give you proper lip support.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[pekay]

before you consider jaw surgery i could consider doing speech and myofascial therapy. the 2nd photo looks quite natural and lip posture is in normal range. it could be you are using the wrong muscles the control your lip posture. particularly, strengthening the masseter and chewing muscles. lots of people with open mouths have very weak muscles that cant even support the soft tissue.

jaw surgery wont treat the muscles - in fact chances are it will get worse. looks-wise it would be best to see a photo from the front to see how much you would benefit.

that is the probably the most honest and blunt opinion you're ever going to hear

[sanddunes]

that is the probably the most honest and blunt opinion you're ever going to hear

lol.  So why does anybody bother with jaw surgery.  We should all just go exercise our face muscles and everything will be perfect!  Sorry, but everything is about good bone structure.  Without that, the muscles can never function in the way they were intended to.  Of course, I am sure speech therapy wouldn't hurt to do but I doubt it would be some magical fix..

[Tiny]

Nah, haven't went to any surgeons or anything like that. And I live in the UK. Not really sure where to go about it.

Do you think jaw surgery would sort out the problems I've mentioned above? I'm also starting to wonder if I have some form of sleep apnoea after reading some of the symptoms 

If you want to try and do it then you need to get a reference from an orthodontist.  They can refer you to a surgeon.  If you can do it on the NHS then you have to go on the waiting list and they need a valid medical reason to do it (sleep apenea might be enough)

If you do it privately it would be about 10-13kGBP.  I got quoted 5k for the ortho work and 7.5K for bimax surgery.  You would be in a better position not having had ortho work as you won't need to 'undo' previous orthodontics

Out of curiosity, how old are you and why haven't you had ortho work?  The NHS slap it on anyone with significant enough bite issues

[designatedmilhouse]

Gotta say, I'm kinda confused at the thread so far   

If you want to try and do it then you need to get a reference from an orthodontist.  They can refer you to a surgeon.  If you can do it on the NHS then you have to go on the waiting list and they need a valid medical reason to do it (sleep apenea might be enough)

If you do it privately it would be about 10-13kGBP.  I got quoted 5k for the ortho work and 7.5K for bimax surgery.  You would be in a better position not having had ortho work as you won't need to 'undo' previous orthodontics

Out of curiosity, how old are you and why haven't you had ortho work?  The NHS slap it on anyone with significant enough bite issues

I'm 18. The thing is I'm not really sure if there is a problem with my bite. As I've mentioned before my teeth seem to come together correctly if I bite, it's just if I keep it in this position it will start to feel strained - almost like the lower jaw is being pushed back slightly. If you look at the second photo, imagine the lower jaw being pushed back because the lower teeth are locked behind the top. If I relax my face as in the first photo then my teeth will be slightly separated, but position wise the top row will be directly angled over the lower row (not sure what the name for this is). Sorry again if 'overbite' isn't the correct section for this, but I chose this section based on the outside appearance of my jaw position.

I think I'd like to be able to get an x-ray just to see more clearly. Am I able to request one if I see an orthodontist?

[Cmonster]

before you consider jaw surgery i could consider doing speech and myofascial therapy. the 2nd photo looks quite natural and lip posture is in normal range. it could be you are using the wrong muscles the control your lip posture. particularly, strengthening the masseter and chewing muscles. lots of people with open mouths have very weak muscles that cant even support the soft tissue.

jaw surgery wont treat the muscles - in fact chances are it will get worse. looks-wise it would be best to see a photo from the front to see how much you would benefit.

This. Before you leap into the deep end, what are the main problems at hand? What is bothering you? Are you having bite or jaw pain issues? Etc Etc- if its just a muscle issue than some physio and such can balance out muscular issues- if you have an underlying skeletal issue now thats another can of worms and then yeah you might be a candidate for jaw surgery. Do your research and work your way before leaping in the deep end and such! Also posting clearer pictures of your face forward and profile will help, its a tad hard to make out whats going on.