If you have to have surgery on your lower or upper jaw, you may be wondering if the surgery will change how you look. Understandably so, cosmetic surgery involving reshaping the jaw does change a person's face shape.
Depending on what your surgery entails, you may experience some alteration to your face. The experts at Olson Orthodontics are ready to help you and answer your questions.
Some Orthodontics Are Meant to Change Your Face
The effects of orthodontic devices like a palatal expander or space expander create more room in one's mouth by forcing it to widen or lengthen. The results are dramatic in your mouth, but not quite as dramatic outside.
In the case of a broken jaw, jaw surgery requires pins, screws, and even braces to wire the jaw shut. Such measures are taken to ensure that the patient's mouth heals properly without interruption and interference. In this case, the objective is to repair and restore the jaw as it was.
In instances where someone wants to lengthen the lower jaw to create a stronger chin, the jaw is broken and extended. Pins and/or bone grafts may be used to move the lower jaw further forward. The face changes shape and appearance because this surgery is the most extreme.
The Purpose of Your Jaw Surgery, Orthodontically Speaking
If your jaw is being corrected orthodontically, it may change your face mildly or moderately. Only in extreme cases where birth defects have caused malformation of the jaw will jaw surgery create a really dramatic change in face shape. If jaw surgery is in your future, it's unlikely that the effects will be dramatic. Your profile might change a little, but that's it.
Virtual Technology to See the Changes
If you are still concerned about jaw surgery changing your face shape, there is a virtual way to see the end results of your surgery. Cosmetic surgeons use it to show patients how they will look.
An oral surgeon can take a picture of your current face and then plug in the changes that will be made through surgery. The software will show you how your face will look a few months after you have healed.
Ask your orthodontist at Olson Orthodontics if you can see how the oral surgery will change your appearance, if at all. Schedule your appointment today