Orthodontic Surgery?

Question

I have a class 3 alignment of my jaw. My lower jaw slightly covers my upper jaw. Its affecting my biting and i actually take 1 hour to chew food. Im not so concerned about the appearance but in recent years the underbite became worse and i lost my self confidence. Is there anyway to self-correct the underbite or ways to stop it from becoming worse? My dentist said i can only do the jaw surgery 2yrs after i done my braces and in this 2 yrs, im afraid the biting will exacerbate making everything worse. Can someone advice whether to do braces or the surgery first? Much thanks!

Answer 1

Hello,

You cannot self correct your situation. Also chewing will not make anything worse. You must first have braces because the teeth have to be in perfect alignment and may for a short time actually make the alignment seem a little worse than it does right now. Don't be upset with this because this has to be done. Once your teeth are in alignment then surgery will be scheduled but also not until it is certain you will not grow anymore. Growing in some cases can cause the surgery to have to be repeated.  The surgery itself isn't as bad as it sounds. Well so my daughter tells me. They told her that for a short time your jaw goes numb and that helps with the pain. The feeling returns and when it does your healed. She barely used any pain medication. The thing that bothered her most was the fact that they cut through her sinuses and she was not permitted to blow her nose for 6 weeks because it would go in her face and not out the nose causing an infection.  Two years will go by so fast.  

Answer 2

The braces have to be done first and then with the braces on you go for jaw surgery, there is no other way to do it.