Invisalign Instead of Orthognathic Surgery?

When someone is still growing and they have braces, then it is possible to use devices, such as headgear, to adjust how the jaws grow help the upper and lower jaws line up correctly. When you get to be an adult and have stopped growing, then the size and relationship of the jaws are pretty much set where they will be at. Invisalign and braces can help line up crooked teeth or help teeth not flare out as much, but cannot do anything correct the skeletal relationship between the two jaws. ... more

It depends -- if your top jaw is smaller, or your bottom jaw bigger, you may have a skeletal (not dental) problem. How do you know? Take a photograph of your profile (stand next to a plain wall and take a side-view photo from both sides). Look at the photograph closely. Is your chin farther forward than the skin above your upper lip? If that upper jaw area is set back from your nose and chin, you have a skeletal mis-alignment and orthognathic surgery is best for you. My friends and... more

It sounds like you have a skeletal problem where your upper jaw is too far behind your lower jaw (or the lower is too far in front of the upper). Invisalign does not address jaw alignment problems at all, and so would not be a reasonable alternative. Sometimes, if the discrepancy is not too great, a mild underbite can be corrected by extacting one front or two back lower teeth and using conventional appliances to pull the lower front teeth back into a normal... more

Your orthodontist should of treated both arches when you were an adolescent. As an adult you should seek a new evaluation from an orthodontist, have them take a panoramic and cephalometric radiograph to assess what can be done to help improve your bite. Braces and the use of elastics/rubber bands can help your bite slightly, but if you have a skeletal abnormality it can only be fixed by orthognathic surgery. Your teeth sit on the bone, you can't move the bone, you can only tip the teeth.... more

From your description it sounds like you have a maxillary deficiency or Class 3 tendency or bite. That would mean the lower jaw protrudes farther forward than your upper jaw. Most of the time you cannot straighten the teeth without the surgery. If you had the opposite situation, you could possibly straighten the teeth and leave your skeletal relationship as a class 2 bite. I would say invisalign may be inneffective for you and you may need braces. If you want to straighten your teeth,... more

When there are skeletal issues, there really isn't much of a choice. Invisalign can tip teeth, but jaws and their relationships are really outside the scope of removable appliances and most bracket systems.