Dear All,
First of all, I'm 24 yo F with a retrognatic mandible, my chin point being completely invisible and my mandible very weak. My bite is quite ok, though, as I was told recently by an orthodontist. My upper palate has (not precise measuring) around 30-31 mm. My mewing indicator seems to be 45 mm. Also, I'm concerned with the zone under my eyes as it is wide with circles & I have very weak and flat cheekbones.
I had my first orthodontic treatment (crooked teeth) while being 6 to 9, then I relapsed, then I had the second one from 16 to 19. There my mandible had been advanced with an apparatus so that I looked really good, but after a year it all relapsed again :(. Of course no ortodontist ever told me about the importance of the right tongue posture or they just mentioned that I'm not doing it well without getting into any details or consequences of that at all.
Although I don't remember ever breathing through my mouth and I keep my mouth closed, my tongue had rested all my life with the tip between my teeth (sucking on them while swallowing) and the rest of it resting on the lower palate.
I'm practicing correct tongue position and swallowing since the day before yesterday, the first hours were a rough time but now the third day it's feeling quite comfortable. I believe I'm doing it correctly because when I try and open my mouth and close my nostrils with my fingers I still can't breathe through my mouth - I read it's a good indicator that you're doing this right. I have more hard time with swallowing, especially while eating and I often forget about doing those things correctly.
Still, do you think I could benefit more from the myofunctional therapy because maybe my palate is too narrow? Or should I continue because I can expand it by the right tongue posture or swallowing only? What results can I expect at 24 and in what period of time?
Also, I have plastic retainers (like the one on the right here) for both upper and lower teeth from my last orthodontic treatment which I was told to wear all my life to prevent my teeth from relapsing and to being crooked again. But as I changed my tongue posture, wouldn't they prevent the changes in my palate &mandible I want to achive? Is it better just to leave them and risk my teeth being crooked again?
I am also thinking about jaw surgery... But the possible consequences scare me a lot.
Any suggestions and support will be greatly appreciated and thank you all in advance!
(I'm sorry for any mistakes but English is not my native tounge).
Hello
Okay, let's do this
From what you've said about your case -- the following comes to my mind.
Timeline: Think long-term in the realm of 5 years. Make that your concept, for now.
The amount of time varies. Even amongst the users of this site alone there have been a wide range of claimed timelines before seeing positive changes. Your situation sounds serious on paper, to me thus it may take quite some time. Possibly. But it is difficult to say, because it won't just be your maxilla/mandible that changes. Your whole skull will be changing as the (22) cranial bones shift around as a result of EVERYTHING you do and do not do. Day in and day out.
Getting everything to its intendeded place takes time. This is some tough, serious work.
But I believe in you! I'll cheer you on. 加油
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Myofunctional therapy: seems indeed a worthwhile investment.
The consensus here is that 38 mm is the point at which tongue posture alone will most advantageously create and maintain positive growth.
Increasing that maxillary Intermolar width will also be important for your mandible to change.
How do you increase that width? Yes it is possible to do with just tongue posture. However 31 mm makes it such that it will be difficult without outside help. Some advocate appliances. Others advocate professionals, like Myofunctional therapy, NCR.
Difficult, but possible.
Yet, any help you can get will, in my opinion, will be faster and the efficient way to get change.
Users here have cited studies which indicated that adults increased their Intermolar width (IW) by, on average, ~3-4 mm through myofunctional therapy alone.
One of the most difficult things to do is to take old habits and replace them with new habits. English has a saying along the lines of, "you can't teach an old dog new tricks," yet that is precisely what needs to be done. Myofunctional therapy often devotes an amount of time to doing just that, and these new habits could only benefit you, as long as you committed to the process.
Conclusion: Myofunctional therapists have wisdom and expertise that I feel can only help you improve. Myofunctional therapy has been documented, proven to produce results. Such a person can be an invaluable resource. The therapy involves exercises that can be done at your convenience without hassle. Costs vary, but are quite affordable.
If if that's something you move forward with --
Recommendation Get a consultation in person, at the least. Their evaluation may give wonderful advice. I had a Myofunctional therapist consultation -- measurements were taken, the way I chew/breathe was evaluated, etc etc.
Many myofunctional therapists offer to do their services online, yet I recommend getting the consultation in person.
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Retainers: The removable retainers would prevent changes from taking place. Retainers are often designed to maintain present shape, and function of the bite.
Your goal is to improve and widen your bite.
The intent of you Hawley removable retainers, and the goal of Orthotropics are a bit at odds with one another.
The upside is, that If you maintain proper posture and swallow patttrn -- then in theory there would be no need for the retainers.
If if if you weren't comfortable giving up some form of retainer/appliance
Alternative to your current retainers would be ALF fixed wire palate expander.
I advocate against jaw surgery; however, that is indeed left as a possible option. Try to leave that as a last resort, please. It seems to be the case that people can relapse their jaw surgeries as well if they continue to have improper posture, habits.
just in the same way how braces can relapse if posture is incorrect.
Orthotropics vid to review:
(nevertheless I realize English isn't your first language and thus maybe the audio is difficult to understand.)
Thank you very much for your thoughts.
I can see how a consultation in person could be beneficial, but I've already checked for some specialist in orthotropics or myotherapy in France where I live and... it seems that you can't find them. I got to the website of the Society of Myotherapy in France which just sent me to another site for specialists' names which in turn... sent me to the previous site. Whoah. I think this field is really undevelopped in France yet. Ideally I would see dr. Mew (travelling to UK would not be a problem) but when I see on his website that the online consultation alone costs 400£ I doubt I could afford it. Still having the choice between the surgery which is expensive in itself and perhaps therapy I will perhaps consider this.
For now I will definitely contact Sarah Hornsby asking for the price of online therapy which she provides and some suggestions, I can see that she offers a free consultation. Anyway, I will be forced to choose between myotherapy or the surgery and then some myotherapy following in order not to relapse (I'm afraid of that, too). The surgery tempts me as I've seen great results for example on blogs hold by real people. Actually I'm seeing two surgeons next month as until recently I thought it was my only option, I'm going to ask them whether they know someone who might specialise in myotherapy (I can keep an update about the awarness of this field in France). The orthodontist I saw recently only told me that my bite is fine, that he wouldn't do anything about my mandibule if he were me. He didn't even mentionned anything about what might be causing this or my wrong tongue posture.
Thanks for the videos, God my English in writing must be far worse than I realise ;) I understand despite not so good audio. I've already seen lots of dr. Mew's videos but I hadn't got to the one about stopping retainers, it was very helpful and clarified to me a lot on this.
Actually if someone wants to see me here are:
Especially as I lost a few kilograms recently I can see how the lower part of my face has become even thinner, I feel like I had the smallest face on the planet :p. Also I'm concerned about the zone under my eyes which you can see a bit on the first picture, all my friends notice this asking why I'm like this or whether I'm tired...
Personally, I think that the most correct solution is always to consult with a specialist because specialists often face similar situations and they already have a solution. In my opinion, science has progressed quite quickly and I am sure you will be able to solve any of your problems! My aunt also has a lot of problems, although she is more worried about looking older. Now she is thinking of undergoing peptide therapy or something similar like https://healthgains.com/wellness/peptide-therapy/ . I really don't know if she should go through this. I think to read the information on the Internet and learn as much as possible, have you ever heard of such a therapy? I'm worried about my aunt, I don't want her to do anything dangerous.
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