If you have an overbite, you’re not alone. An overbite is one of the most common dental problems, affecting close to 80% of the population at some point in their lives. If your overbite causes you to be self-conscious about your jawline, then you might be wondering if you can fix your overbite and still keep your jawline the way it is now. What are the risks of fixing an overbite? Can my jawline stay the same? Should I be worried about losing my jaw overbite before and after?
Jaw Overbite
A Before-and-After Story: When I first came to my orthodontist with a jaw overbite, he told me that I had one of two options for correcting it: I could wear a headgear contraption 24/7 for about two years, or get my overbite surgically corrected. He said that if I went with surgery, my face would end up being more angular (with an angular jawline). This might sound like bad news at first, but having a sharper look isn’t always such a bad thing. Sure enough, after getting corrective jaw surgery from Dr. Robert Morey in Aurora, Colorado (and wearing braces for 18 months straight), my face is now more angular—but not in a bad way! Here’s what my jaw looks like before and after surgery.
How I Fixed my Jaw overbite
If you have an overbite, chances are you’ve been asked to smile in many different ways. If your overbite is severe enough, you’re probably used to covering your mouth with your hand when laughing or talking for fear of others seeing it. For those who think their jaw overbites are too severe for a functional orthodontic solution, chin surgery is often recommended as a way to fix these problems. While several studies show that surgery can help improve jaw appearance and bite function, it isn’t without its own risks—and there may be cheaper alternatives.
In my case, I had jaw surgery because I had a very severe jaw overbite. My lower jaw was almost completely out of alignment with my upper jaw, which led to not only an uneven bite but also breathing issues while sleeping. When I started looking into options for fixing my problem, I learned that most people with similar issues go through multiple rounds of orthodontics first before opting for surgical correction. The problem was that my teeth were so far out of alignment that braces alone wouldn’t correct them—I needed something more drastic. That’s why I decided to look into surgical solutions like jaw surgery and what other options were available to me if surgery wasn’t right for me.
Jawline after surgery
Though you may be concerned that fixing your overbite will only change your jawline, it actually won’t have an effect on your jaw’s overall appearance. Your jaw is formed by bone and cartilage, so your surgeon can only affect one of those components. The main goal of surgery is to reduce any misalignment you may have in order to give you a more straight profile.
Think about it: If everything was perfectly aligned before surgery, there would be no need for correction! So while some patients do notice a subtle difference in their jawline shape after moving their teeth around, others don’t see any noticeable difference at all.
This is because jaw alignment isn’t just determined by where your jaw meets your skull—it also has to do with how far forward or back your chin protrudes from your face. You might find that fixing an overbite helps align other facial features like your nose, lips, and eyes—but it won’t necessarily change anything about how far forward or back they sit from each other. And if you are noticing a slight change in your jawline shape after moving teeth around, remember that it might not look different for long. With time (and dental hygiene), most people find their new bite will settle into place and their face will return to its original form within six months or so.
