Hi, all.
I'm so glad I found this forum because I've been bothered by my jaw for years and feel overwhelmed with all the medical jargon. The thing that bothers me most is aesthetic. I'm a 27-year-old woman, and I hate my long midface. It makes me look weird and off. I've gotten fillers and Botox for the past couple years in an attempt to camouflage the length, but that doesn't solve the issue that my midface is still long. I have an overbite (class II?) combined with lip incompetence and chin dimpling. My profile also suffers because the gonial angle is super wide and my cheeks have a chipmunk look to them because my chin is so receded. I also have a gummy smile and annoyingly long philtrum.
I have naturally high cheekbones and a long ramus, which I think only serve to make my long midface look even weirder. My hooded eyes and brow asymmetry are also points of concern, though they're not as bad as the midface issue. In short, I feel like my long face keeps me from ever being pretty.
I am healthy and athletic as well as tall (5'7") and relatively thin (128 pounds.)
I have seen two maxillofacial surgeons for consultations, both of whom wanted to operate on me, but they didn't guarantee that my midface would look shorter in the end and I'm reluctant to go through so much pain (and $50,000) for a surgery that doesn't even guarantee results.
I've never had braces or any sort of orthodontics. Is that somewhere I should start?
Also, is it even possible for a midface to get shorter without surgical intervention? I looked into TADs and asked many people, but they all say that surgery is the only way to shorten the maxilla. They said it's because it's bone overgrowth and I'm an adult, so it can't be fixed. But is it possible to shorten the upper jaw by having it push forward? Wouldn't that theoretically shorten the face?
I have cephalograms and photos in case people want to see, but I'm not sure if posting those is allowed.
Thanks in advance for the advice!
Have you begun oral posture? When your mouth is at rest, are your teeth already lightly together? What is your body posture like?
I can't give you much advice on midface correction -- this is the million dollar question for a lot of us. There's been a lot of discussion about surgeries, and how it can compromise potential growth and remodeling. Many are also hesitant when it comes to orthodontists, as the results can sometimes be worse than before. I'd suggest taking the time to find professionals who understand oral posture and skull development and see what they have to say about your specific case.
It's very possible that your lip incompetence and other aspects including eyebrow asymmetry could improve with myofunctional therapy and proper oral posture. For myself, it's been a rollercoaster of improvement, to seeming regression, to leaps forward, to seeming regression. "It gets worse before it gets better" can often be applied here.
But through oral posture, body posture, and a smattering of endonasal release and chiropractic adjustments, my class ii has improved, and as a result, my facial features look more harmonious. My philtrum has also shortened, but it takes correct function and a lot of time and patience.
The perception of beauty, including self-perception, is a much larger subject. But if focusing on ratios, I do believe with proper correction, those can improve, even with only muscle work.
Skull and Jaw Correction
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