My Dentist Says I Need To Move My Jaw If I Want To Get Braces

I don't remember much of what my dentist told me when I was 12 in order to get braces. He said I had to move my jaw to the right way in order to get braces. I don't remember what he meant by it. My jaw looks pretty fine and normal. I didn't want to take the risk of getting braces and move my jaw before because I knew it would be painful that I didn't think it would be worth it. And I was afraid moving my jaw would affect my appearance by making me look worse.

Now I really want to get braces. My teeth are completely crooked now because I have too many teeth (I have more teeth than I need) in the way and I also have two new teeth coming through that they're pushing my teeth making them look even more crooked. So if I get braces now, not only do I need to pull out four or more teeth, I also need to move my jaw. Is it worth it?

Do you have a under bite or over bite? I had a little under bite (really it's not even that visible) and it got corrected when I had braces. It's really not that bad and it won't affect your appearance all that much unless you have a big under/over bite.

One of my classmates had to pull out 4 teeth also, but she has perfect teeth now.

It's pretty much worth it if you care about your appearance a lot.

Do you have a under bite or over bite? I had a little under bite (really it's not even that visible) and it got corrected when I had braces. It's really not that bad and it won't affect your appearance all that much unless you have a big under/over bite.

One of my classmates had to pull out 4 teeth also, but she has perfect teeth now.

It's pretty much worth it if you care about your appearance a lot.

I have an under bite. You can barely see the bottom of my teeth when I open my mouth that it looks like the bottom of my teeth is missing while the top of my teeth shows a little. When your under bite got corrected, did it hurt at all? If so, then how much? How did your under bite get corrected? After it got corrected, how did you feel? Did you feel different, uncomfortable, etc?

^ It hurts for a while, as getting braces always hurt at first, but you'll get used to it. Every time you go for a check up, they'll tighten your braces so it'll hurt for like a couple hours or a day. They give you these tiny rubber bands that hook onto specific braces and you wear this 24/7. These are suppose to move your jaw to the correct place over a period of time. There's not much of a difference after it got corrected. It's about the same, no pain or discomfort, but then again I had a small under bite so it wasn't much of a big deal.

oh yeah, you only take off the rubber bands when you eat

Well, think about it this way.

Say you wear the head thing for a year or so to move your jaw.

Then a few more years for braces.

But then you'll have beautiful teeth for the rest of your life !

My sister (nine years old at the time) had her jaw moved.

She had a plate type thing attached to the 'roof' of her mouth, and every night she wore this head thing that was attached to the plate using elastics.

(Have you seen that episode of the Simpsons with Lisa getting her teeth fixed? Where Homer is president of the workers' union lol? It was similar to that, except (a lot) less complicated.)

I had braces for two years (had to remove four teeth as well ), and now my teeth are nice and straight.

Braces/head thing will hurt. But the pain isn't THAT bad.

It was worth it. O_O.

ohh like moving the jaw? surgery? cause my ortho said if i wanted picture perfect teeth i'd need to undergo some surgery where they crack my jaw and then move it or something lol...i got totally freaked out and decided i could do without picture perfect. i still got braces but just that the smile won't look as good as if i had the surgery? yeah only one tooth of mine was crooked but as i got older i got more and more self conscious about smiling..got two teeth removed...i think it's worth it, the process of having the braces might be unpleasant but it's worth it lol

ohh hmm i just read the other people's coments...maybe my idea of moving the jaw is slightly different from what you guys are talking about hahah

^ I think there's several ways to correct under/over bites. I'm guessing it's based on the severity of the bite and the dentist's preference to which one he/she thinks is better.

moving the jaw? surgically?

I don't know if this counts as moving the jaw but I had to use the elastics as well, same as pink1e, when I had braces, pulled out 4 teeth too... but why don't you go ask him what the procedure is for "moving your jaw" before you make your decision?

If it is too difficult then you can debate about getting it or not... but if its simple then definitely get braces! straight teeth are the best ^-^

i have an underbite >.< and my dentist told me that i had to have an operation to move my jaw a bit too >.<..he said exactly the same thing as what my dentis told you...

i didn't do it...becoz there was a chance that after you've done the operation you;ll have a chance that you'll always feel like it's anaesthetised. I was sooo scared haha that i had to cry:P

btw i'm srry if you didn't understood a word what i was saying:P haha english isn't my mother language...so i'm trying to improve it....

My sister is under bite... it's when your bottom teeth stick out more then your upper teeth. Her's was really bad and she needed to go under surgrey to get it corrected... it costed too much and the insurance was not going to cover it due to cosmetic related. AND so she just never got it done... that is why she never smile when she takes pictures...

I think that if you are given the chance of getting your teeth stright, go for it... it will so pay off in the future... Im planning on getting mines done soon... I had stright teeth but when my wisdom teeth came, it pushed my teeth out and now I have a teeth that stick out a little bit but I hate it and Im going to get that fix.

went to the dentis the other day and she said that if you are underbit it's better to correct it at an early age because the older you get the more your jaw will shiff and so if you get your underbit jaw line corrected now then it will save you a lot of money and surgrey... you only go thru surgrey if your jawline or under-bit is really bad.

Think of it this way. Pain for a few years because of braces and jaw moving or crooked teeth for a lifetime :X.

my friend had to do a surgery on her jaw, she drank vitamin water for a bout 2 weeks i think.. diet?! lol and i guess you have to eat congee.. i ate congee the first time i got my braces .. hurt like a pinkberry. lol . well think of it this way you can look better in the future? lol. Thats what made me get my braces. i got them when i was a sophmore.. and now im a junior =]

my friend had to do a surgery on her jaw, she drank vitamin water for a bout 2 weeks i think.. diet?! lol and i guess you have to eat congee.. i ate congee the first time i got my braces .. hurt like a pinkberry. lol . well think of it this way you can look better in the future? lol. Thats what made me get my braces. i got them when i was a sophmore.. and now im a junior =]

My sister is under bite... it's when your bottom teeth stick out more then your upper teeth. Her's was really bad and she needed to go under surgrey to get it corrected... it costed too much and the insurance was not going to cover it due to cosmetic related. AND so she just never got it done... that is why she never smile when she takes pictures...

ACTUALLY, your insurance should have covered it.

Although the immediate effects of underbite correction surgery are primarily cosmetic -- and the general motivation for performing the surgery tends to be cosmetic -- the longterm effects concern your nutrition and overall health. That's why it's so important for so many people to get their teeth corrected. Mostly it's because the back molars aren't aligned properly, so you can end up not chewing/biting your food properly or biting the inside of your mouth, etc... and that could end of affecting your nutrition..

At least, I think that's somewhat accurate. Most people are too frightened to go under the surgery. I had to get surgery for my teeth when I got braces as well. My last molar was actually growing crooked so that it was actually going to run into my jawbone (maxilla) if I didn't get it exposed and eventually pulled out to align with the rest of my teeth. Then I had to get braces to fix my molars and my front teeth to make sure everything stayed in order. If you are uncomfortable with your present dentist/orthodontist's suggestion(s), I suggest you find another one. Most orthodontists have more than one option. I didn't have to get ANY teeth pulled -- although, by all standards, I probably should have -- just some minor oral surgery done to expose my 'errant tooth.' My other friend who had a snaggle tooth ended up having to get two teeth pulled... (which was really weird to me)... so... yep.

After reading all the posts in here, I'm not sure if I really have an underbite. My upper teeth shows more than my bottom teeth. Does this make me have an underbite? Can someone tell me what an underbite looks like? Can someone please post a picture of an underbite?

Is there any way I can get braces without moving my jaw or getting any type of surgery? I really don't want to move my jaw. I want my jaw to stay natural. By the way, how much are those invisible braces compare to those metal ones?

what if you have a really big overbite?

do they move your jaw? or give you one of the awkward body brace things? >.<

Surgery is the only way to correct an underbite or overbite. Braces have to do with the alignment of teeth not the correction of your jaw.

With braces they can set your teeth back to give the illusion that you don't have an under/over bite.

I had braces for 1.5 years back in high school, and they pulled out a bunch of teeth so I only have 26 teeth. o_O My teeth are super-straight... but the braces actually gave me a very slight overbite, which no one noticed until chunks of my molars fell out 3 years ago! The overbite shifted all the pressure from chewing to my back teeth, so over the years that pressure basically wore down my molars. They're all flat instead of having ridges on top. How gross. I had to get 4 root canals and 2 crowns, it was painful and expensive. And this'll happen all over again unless I get jaw surgery soon. ><

So get the surgery and get your teeth straight! You won't regret it!

Ohhh...my dentist said the same thing to me too o_o

I think I have an underbite? My bottom teeth is over my top teeth

so i have to use this thing to push my under teeth back...well that's what he said

it takes years...so yah. I think i have to start doing that this summer o_O

I had the same problem. I had a sort of severe under bite so i needed to move my jaw in order to get braces. In order to do that, i had to undergo at least 1-3 years of wearing a retainer D: .

But, all in all, it was worth it. My profile changed drastically and i look a LOT better. It's worth it really...