Do you have to have braces again to get orthognathic jaw surgery? I had braces when I was younger for an overbite.

Question

and the orthodontist said I could have corrective jaw surgery but I opted not to. Now I'm 30 and hate my side profile. I was thinking of getting the jaw surgery and having a rhinoplasty to remove the bump in my nose, but I'm not sure how long the jaw surgery recovery time is and I don't want to have visible braces again. I used an app to change my profile.. are these before and after's close to how it might look? Or is there any other suggestions on what I could do instead. Thanks in advance.

Guy Watts, MBBS (Hons), FRACS (Plast) · Answer

Interesting question. From the images and simulations that I see you would like to reduce the prominence of your chin point. Interestingly, having jaw surgery to improve and overbite would actually make your chin even more pointy! In the situation that I think your are describing your upper teeth are in front of your lower, therefore to balance the teeth you either need to bring the upper jaw back or the lower jaw forward. Both of these manoeuvres actually make your chin look more pointy. I see a number of patients in your situation. In principle, if you want to correct an overbite you do need to have braces and orthognathic surgery to move the jaws. At the same time you would need to have a reduction genioplasty. Alternatively you could accept your current occlusion and just have a reduction genioplasty. Please see my gallery for before and after images. Ultimately, this can be a complex situation and you need a thorough assessment. A personal consultation is ultimately required to answer all of your questions but your simulated profile is achievable.RegardsDr Guy Watts

Damien Grinsell MBBS, FRACS (Plast) · Answer

hi. I dont think your prfile is bad enough to warrant bimax surgery and would require preop orthodontics with braces. My advice would be to have a rhinoplasty with a chin implant +\- lip fillers. This will give you a beautiful result without the pain and discomofort of bimax surgery. RegardsDamien

Sophie Ricketts, MBBS (Hons), FRACS (Plast) · Answer

There are generally 3 ways to change the profile of our chin in profile/side view.
1.) Orthognathic surgery to move the jaw including the teeth-bearing bone forwards (or back). This requires orthodontics (braces) to set your teeth into a position such that when you move the jaw the teeth line up with the teeth of the upper jaw. This is hard to contemplate if you've already had orthodontics in the past and your bite is fine.
2.) Genioplasty surgery to move the chin forwards (or back). This leaves the tooth-bearing bone where is it, but moves the bone of the chin forwards.
3.) Chin Implant. This is a plastic implant that is screwed to the front of the chin to push the chin point forwards.
So not all surgery to change your chin position necessarily involves braces... Which is good news!

Do you have to have braces again to get orthognathic jaw surgery? I had braces when I was younger for an overbite.

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