Can you notice any possible health effects my jaw could have on me?

[Nicolazzz]

So I have a planned double jaw surgery in the future. I was at a consultation today and I spoke to my dentist about the whole procedure in relation to my teeth alignment. Their plan is to move both my lower and upper jaw forwards, with a split in the middle of the top jaw I think. I am supposed to have braces for 2.5-3 years before my procedure.

Okay to my dilemma: I pursued a jaw surgery about 2-3 years ago because of insecureties with my appearance. Back then all I wanted to do was to fix that. I had no thoughts about functional issues then. That isn't to say I didn't have functional issues, but I didn't notice them then. I've matured a lot since then, and I've realized that this surgery shouldn't happen just for the sake of being able to accept myself. I told my dentist that I had to have a functional cause to do this surgery, and that I couldn't do on the basis that I started of with. She said that my jaws had an overbite, but my teeth disguised this fact because my upper teeth are tilted slightly back and my lower teeth are tiltled slightly forward, creating the illusion that I don't have an overbite. Therefore she said that there wasn't a functional reason as such to get this surgery from the dental point of view. I told her that I think my jaws are diminishing the amount of air that I can breathe when I sleep. But she said she couldn't promise that this surgery would help a problem like that, because this problem is subjective. To be honest, I don't really know if this surgery would help me on any functional level. I've had my jaws my whole life, so how could I ever know how my airway "should" feel, and how the inside of my mouth "should" feel? I have an intuition that it would help me in the long run, but how would I know if that's true. Is the risk worth it if It's not even certain it would help my breathing, or any other functional possible issue, weighed against all of the risks of nervedamage, infections, blood loss etc.?

I'm basically asking for you guys advice. Can you find any possible functional reason for a huge surgery such as double jaw surgery, from just taking a look at my pictures? Obviously I wan't the surgery to a degree, I want to look better, who doesn't. I don't want to do it for that reason alone though.

https://imgur.com/a/U4NztJs There should be 3 pictures on this link. If there isn't then please say so. They are to give you an idea of what I'm working with.

[Lefortitude]

if youre not having functional issues now its not logical to pursue surgery to correct functional issues.

[Post bimax]

Like Lefortitude said, there's no reason to get this surgery if you don't actually have noticeable functional issues now.  At this point, they aren't likely to develop in the future.

Now if you want to get the surgery for AESTHETIC reasons, that's fine.  Just don't go about trying to invent functional reasons for a surgery you're really getting to look better.  Nobody here can tell you that you have a functional issue that you yourself are not noticing.

There's nothing wrong with getting a cosmetic procedure.  You just need to be honest with yourself and the doctors about what you're doing.

[notrain]

Your bite looks solid and your airway looks competent.
If you don't want to do it for looks alone (which is smart), then there's no reason to get this surgery.

[kavan]

Initially I thought you already had your surgery and was perplexed at your posts. Then looked at your photos and was even more perplexed as to why you were posting after you already had surgery. Turned out you are JUST LIKE and very much similar to another poster; 'dammit-daniel'.
Not only in looks but also in situation. So, do a search on his posts and responses he got to them.

I looked at your photos. Facial balance wise, you are clearly a candidate for bimax surgery, most likely CCW with posterior downgraft, BSSO and chin augment, most likely with advancement and a little clockwise rotation to the chin to elongate.

Those are the basic movements associated with MAXIMIZING both AESTHETIC BALANCE to the jaws and AIRWAY. CCW with posterior downgraft allows for optimizing FORM and FUNCTION. For example when someone would breath much better from lower jaw advancement (which opens airway) but would not look that great with the upper jaw advancement that might have to go with it, CCW posterior downgraft allows for maximizing the lower jaw advancement AND minimizing the upper jaw advancement in situations where a lot of upper jaw advancement would not look that good.

Breathing much better is associated with opening the airway via the BSSO and also advancing the CHIN. The chin is connected to a muscle connection that is associated with help with breathing. So when that connection is 'advanced' via chin advancement, better breathing is assisted further. When chin advancement would look better aesthetically and ALSO helps with BREATHING, that is example of FORM and FUNCTION working together. If another displacement in addition to advancement to the chin would need to be done to further optimize aesthetics, that too can be incorporated into the surgery.

Other things can also be incorporated into the surgery such as making the palate wider if that is needed.

As to your question, what needs to be 'noticed' is the RELATIONSHIP between narrow airways and recessed jaws and chin. Recession correlates highly with narrow airway and breathing problems. Recession also (and obviously) correlates highly with aesthetic IMBALANCE.

What can be NOTICED on your photos is an aesthetic imbalance that highly correlates breathing problems. That is to say a FORM that correlates highly with DYSFUNCTION in the breathing department. Hence a correction of the FORM would correlate highly with IMPROVING FUNCTION.

ETA: Basically, if you want to make a decision for or against getting the surgery, which you could get on grounds of aesthetics alone, but don't notice any functional problems, what I'm saying is the relationship/correlation between FORM and FUNCTION should also factor into your decision whether or not you notice any dysfunction at this point in time.

I'm NOT saying you have functional problems and can't predict if you would have them later in life. I'm just saying that the correlation between form and function should also factor into any decision for or against getting the surgery.

[TMKA]

I can tell by your pics that you are young. The airway problems will come as you get older and heavier ( I use to be thin too, but time has a way of putting the extra pounds on you). I had a double jaw advancement a few years ago in my mid 40's and I am sleeping much better now. It really opened up my airways and the better sleep has given me much more energy. I wish I would have done the surgery 20 years ago, but I too didn't want to have it just for cosmetic reasons. I didn't realize how age would combine with my overbite to give me severe sleep apnea that would make me feel so crappy.

I would recommend that you find an expert orthodontist in your area who is experienced with these surgeries. I also recommend to think long term about the health problems you are likely to have if you don't have the surgery. As far as the cosmetic part goes, I love my results. I didn't even realize how self conscious I was before. I could have been looking good for another 20 years if I would have done it sooner, lol.

The most important thing is to find the best doctors in your area, even if they cost more (mine did) and even if you have to drive a long distance to find them ( I did). You definitely don't want your average orthodontist. You want the best you can find.

Hope that helps