Author Topic: Can an impaction can be done to shorten the upper jaw without braces  (Read 1986 times)

toothfairy

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I've already had major surgery on my upper and lower jaws. It has left me with a long upper jaw which results in me not being able to close my lips properly. It also looks very unattractive.
Does anyone know if I could get it shortened (impaction) without having to go through the whole procedure again.

sean89

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Re: Can an impaction can be done to shorten the upper jaw without braces
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2014, 05:08:30 PM »
Impaction alone can be done without any decompensation phase in the vast majority of cases, but also in the vast majority of cases, it will lead to a slightly worsened bite.

So orthodontics aren't necessary per se, but desirable if your bite is important to you.

If I remember correctly, I was told that, for every 2mm that you impact the upper jaw, the upper jaw must come forward 1mm to maintain the existing bite, but obviously braces will usually be able compensate for this without having to move the upper jaw forward.

toothfairy

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Re: Can an impaction can be done to shorten the upper jaw without braces
« Reply #2 on: December 02, 2014, 04:10:45 PM »
Thanks for that info sean89. If what I understand is correc,t it may actually work in my favor as the teeth in my upper jaw have been pulled inwards to meet my lower teeth. If I had the impaction it would mean that my teeth could be put back into a more natural position, which would mean braces again but it might be worth the effort. Having the upper teeth slant inwards looks odd.

Thanks

PloskoPlus

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Re: Can an impaction can be done to shorten the upper jaw without braces
« Reply #3 on: December 03, 2014, 01:03:09 AM »
Thanks for that info sean89. If what I understand is correc,t it may actually work in my favor as the teeth in my upper jaw have been pulled inwards to meet my lower teeth. If I had the impaction it would mean that my teeth could be put back into a more natural position, which would mean braces again but it might be worth the effort. Having the upper teeth slant inwards looks odd.

Thanks

This does not make any sense.  The fact that upper teeth are pulled inward means you're compensated for an overbite i.e. your lower jaw was not advanced enough?  sean89 says that you need advancement of the upper jaw along with impaction, so the overbite will get even bigger?

toothfairy

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Re: Can an impaction can be done to shorten the upper jaw without braces
« Reply #4 on: December 03, 2014, 02:11:16 PM »
Yes it does sound a little confusing, but I interpreted ....
 "every 2mm that you impact the upper jaw, the upper jaw must come forward 1mm to maintain the existing bit"

...as meaning that the surgeon needs to bring the upper jaw forward by 1mm to "maintain the existing bite". In my case, if the surgeon DOESN'T bring the jaw forward but instead leaves it to the orthodontist to just bring my teeth back in alignment, then my bite should be fine.