Jaw surgery underbite for my daughter

[EllyChen]

My daughter wants to have surgery for her underbite, and I am worried about it. Anyone has any recommendations on how to find a reliable jaw surgeon in the UK?

Could it be corrected without surgery? My DD had an underbite which was fixed with braces.

As above - what does her dentist say? Block braces bring the lower jaw forward, DDs were nhs funded

If they are in the U.K. and they have a class 3 malocclusion (negative overjet) which is what I think you are talking about , if it causes a problem it will be done on the NHS.

This is because it will not only need surgery but also braces to bring the teeth into the right place for when the jaw is moved back.

This is a huge commitment as the braces and surgery together are likely to take a few years .

For this type of problem the NHS will fund for adults.

your first step is to go to your dentist for a referral , or pay for a private orthodontic referral , however because of the complexity and the fact it is a joint orthodontic/surgical proceedure most orthodontists would refer the NHS route, I am not aware of anyone who has had it done privately.

You will get this on NHS if the malocclusion is sufficient.

My daughter is starting the braces regime soon with one eye on an osteotomy at 18 for hers. All on NHS. Her underbite has improved since her being tiny but I will do whatever the orthodontist seems necessary for her to have healthy teeth etc in adulthood

Why are you worried? The surgeon will be a trained maxilofacial specialist.

How old is she? Ds would have had needed surgery if he had not had twin block braces.

18 already.

If she has no other problems, like jaw pain, NHS will not proceed with her. Currently, she was rejected by NHS.

18 is too old to sort out with just braces as she’s missed the pubertal growth spurt. It will, unless very mild, need a combined orthodontic (braces) and surgery approach .

I have taken her to three dentists. They all say she needs surgery.

But it won’t be surgery on its own. Has any of them referred her for a joint consultation yet?

You can’t just move the jaw with surgery , you need to realign the teeth as well as part of a combined approach .

Has she complain about other issue related to the jaw.

the possible risks and the long procedure she needs to go through. She is a health and lovely girl.

So she has seen an orthodontist at a hospital then and had an assesment ? You can ask for a second opinion .

I am not aware of anyone who has had this done privately , you would be looking at circa £3000 plus for the orthodontics and I would guess £10,000 plus for the orthognatic surgery . There would have to be close co ordination between the two.

Yes, they all said so. But surgery is a must, which I feel worried.

No, she wasn't assessed in hospital. I pay for the prive assessment by local orthodontists. one of them who took x-ray and photos for her have referred her to NHS (as they said) and she was rejected.

My daughter had this. When she had braces fitted (at the age of IIRC 12) we were told then that she would need surgery to correct underbite, but they wouldn't do it until her jaw stopped growing and the braces had had chance to have the optimal effect. She was 18 before she had the actual operation, still wearing braces but the dentists had decided that the underbite wouldn't be correctible with braces alone. She was operated on just before her 18th birthday, still had to continue wearing braces for another couple of years, and had her wisdom teeth removed at the same time (very very small lower jaw).

She's had no further problem with her lower jaw. I was astonished at how quickly she recovered from the operation - she only needed paracetamol after day 2, and that was only because a little nerve damage made her lower lip tingle!

If the lower teeth protrude less than 3.5mm , without any other problems then she would , automatically , be rejected. This article explains the criteria. https://www.oshorthodontics.co.uk/articles/iotn-explained

The next thing , then , is to speak to one of the orthodontists about private treatment . However it will need a combined approach , will take a few years and be very expensive , if it is possible. The orthodontist will be the best person to speak to about where best is to have this done because it’s normally both the orthodontist and surgeon who work at the same hospital.

How odd to see this as I'm sat at home recovering from dounle jaw surgery. I have given birth to children and the pain of this operation was worse. I'm surprised to hear someone had a good recovery but perhaps as only one jaw operated on. It is horrific but I am already so excited to see the final outcome. I had braces 2.5 years prior to op (should have been a year ish but covid led to nhs delays for surgery). Your daughter should go through with it. The long term benefits far outweigh the short and I am in my 30s. I went to a private orthodontist who said they would refer me to the NHS if I was happy to consider that option and I went to nhs, had a consultation there and rest is history. I don't think I would pay privately. I did say thank you to my surgeon and I am surprised its on nhs and he replied saying he can't see it being so for much longer so you just never know. My issue was severe though

You can check registration details of any surgeons. Many of the private surgeons will be NHS ones doing work on the side. Look at BUPA, Nuffield, Spire etc. Im assuming you mean private rather than NHS

I had this! So did my brother

Don't regret a thing

Swelling was awful for one week, but fine after that. Had a bit of nerve damage but the nerves re grow.

Let her have the operation. It's a load better than a lifetime of underbite and feeling self conscious.

I had it done the summer I left school, started university a month or two later and was totally healed and looking normal

There are risks with all surgery OP, and these will be controlled by the specialist. I’m sure she is healthy (the most important thing) and lovely but you are looking at her with mum eyes - you would think she is beautiful with a paper bag over her head! Jaw deformations destroy self esteem. Support her to at least get the information she needs to make the choice.

Thank you for your reply. Very important to me. I am a bit lost now. I use to have anxiety about apperance when I was in her age. But then I grow out of it when I am more mature. I am not sure if she could grow out of this eventually. At the moment, I can tell she has the underbite. But I feel it doesn't matter much (from mum's eye). And even with the op, the shape of the nose could change maybe. So I just feel health is more important. If I were her, I would not take the op. By the way, I might be thinking of the worst result always. By the way, underbite might be something worse.

thank you for your support. I do hope one day my daughter can talk about this like you.

thank you very much. It is good to know these resources. It seems that NHS will not take her easily. She has no complications so far.