Underbite Surgery

I was considering getting surgery to correct my underbite. I was wondering if braces are ABSOLUTELY mandatory and if there are any risks...thanks

[Stephanie]

My brother had a moderate underbite until he was 25. He finally found an ortho that said he could fix it wihout surgery. Surgery should be your last and final try.

Braces with the user of applicance and rubber bands can be used to slide the jaws and such.

Get atelast 3 orthos opinion in your area and go from there... Surgery is much more expesive and not covered by insurance.

Good luck

I have to get the upper and lower jaw surgery to correct an open bite. My dentist said that I could get the braces but I would still have an overbite or I could get the surgery and then go into brace (the time frame would still be the same) and my teeth would be perfect! My insurance should cover it because it is medically necessary. I would still ask around before making a decision.

Sorry for the late reply, but figure it may help others who stumble across these posts.

Braces are mandatory - interview a couple orthognathic surgeons and ask them though.

Risks - there are always risks with anything, like driving to work every day. If you find a good surgeon that does orthognathic procedures frequently (mine does one or two of them every week), the actual risks are minimal these days, and you will be very happy that you went through it if you need it.

Stephanie's post - I disagree. If most of the orthodontists said your brother should go through orthognathic, he probably should do it ... just because he found one orthodontist that will take his money and fix it as best he can does not mean this will be the best outcome and that your brother will be happy with the results. For everyone else, try to do what is the right treatment the first time - if the right treatment is just braces, that's great - I would think your could overcome up to a few millimeters offset with orthodontics alone. Most people inquiring about orthognathic surgery are in a different category though. If your brother is unhappy with semi-alright braces results, then to reverse everything they are doing now will take the same amount of time ... another 2 years of braces at a later age plus the surgery. Hopefully he does not need to go through that though.

ctoler1920 - How many millimeters is your overbite? If they can flare your bottom teeth forward slightly and be within a few millimeters of where your jaws should be, then I would probably go with that. If it is more distinct than that, I am guessing you will be happier with the results of orthognathic.

Good luck all!

[polorun1117]

Hi All,

I had orhtognathic surgery 5 months ago and I can honestly say it was the best decision I have ever made. I had a great experience and I would be more than happy to answer anyone's questions. I had it when I was 19 years old, I took summer classes while being wired shut and I also worked at my summer job. I made it! It was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I had some hard times but the good things override those other moments. I had my upper and lower jaw adjusted due to a "severe" open bite. My surgeon was so amazing and he had done an incredible job. I would love to reccommend him to anyone if you are in New York.

Hope to hear from you soon
Good luck!

-Roseanne

[mike5824]

I wanted to correct my smile and every Orthodontist told me I need surgery. But I needed to wear braces to straighten my teeth so the surgeons could line up my jaws and wire them together during surgery.
So I wore braces for 2 years. Had surgery on Upper & Lower Jaws 6 weeks ago. Will wear braces for 6 more months.

I'm very happy with the results.

[obanyakis]

I have class III underbite and supposed to have an orthonagtic surgery done...but i have a hard time deciding on the right surgeon. The oral surgeon i worked with all along is no longer cover under my network due to my insurance change from my employer, so i have consulted few other oral surgeons. There is this one surgeon that seems to be covered under my insurance but i am not so sure if I trust him enough. He is an out of network surgeon but he told me that he had negotiated with my insurance and had agreed to take whatever my insurance paid. Moreover, he is the only surgeon that had submitted merely lower jaw movement without graft, while all other surgeons submitted for both lower and upper jaw surgery with graft (whatever that means). I am very concern and not sure what to do. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated, Thanks

[mike5824]

I just had my $35,000 Underbite surgery done for free. I was responsible for paying for the hospital stay after surgery and for my Braces but still haven’t gotten 1 bill yet.

I had the Upper jaw moved forward & the Lower jaw moved back to fix a bad underbite after I wore the braces for about 2 years to first align the teeth better.


I always had a bad smile especially if I smiled big so I asked Orthodontists and they all told me I NEED surgery to get braces.
BRACES = $5,000+
SURGERY = $35,000+
So I prayed for about 4-5 years while thinking God would provide the $40,000. Then my wisdom teeth needed to be pulled and the Oral surgeon who did it asked me if I ever considered surgery for my Underbite and told me that his brother, also an Oral Surgeon, does those surgeries for free because it would be done in front of students so they can learn how its done and he has done lots of those surgeries and specializes in them. But I needed to talk to him and then get braces on until my teeth were straight. So I put braces on in 1 week from Drs. Selky & Reily in Grayslake, IL, USA.

When my teeth were straight I met with the surgeon and we set a surgery date and, as I am typing this, its been 4 months after surgery. I have no numbeness or any complications. I get my braces off in 2 weeks and then I’m all done.

ALL I CAN REALLY SAY IS THAT IT WAS REALLY WORTH THE INCONVENIENCE!