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Old 08-13-2008, 07:17 PM
Zoso Zoso is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 262
I think you actually mean overjet, not overbite - your upper front teeth are too far in front of the lower ones, right?

How this is treated depends on the individual case. It may be purely a dental issue, in which case it is just treated orthodontically. But if it is a skeletal issue - a problem with how the jaw bones developed (and you indicate you have been told this is the case for you) - then surgery is most often the better way to go (although a decent compromise result can sometimes be achieved with braces alone). If it is to be corrected surgically, there are still different procedures that can be used, depending on the precise cause of the problem: is it that the lower jaw is under-developed, that the upper jaw is over-developed, or both? Thus, surgery can be undertaken to move the lower jaw forward, or teh upper jaw back - or both. A third "special" situation can exist for people who have OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) in addition to an overjet - in this case sometimes both jaws will be brought forward (obviously the lower jaw is moved further forward) so that a better airway is created, and the OSA is cured.

You ask if it is possible to get surgery of this type done for purely aesthetic reasons. It is, although personally I would consider the risks to be significant if the only reason for taking them is cosmetic. And it would also be far harder to get this work covered by insurance if it is cosmetic reasons alone. However, even if your reasons are centered on the aesthetic, it is of course entirely possible that there are functional issues as well that the OMS would recognise and highlight in any insurance-related documentation.
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