IAmA 19 y/o male who had surgery on both jaws 6 months ago for a >1.5 cm Mandibular prognathism (Underbite). (Before/after pics!)

Incredible. You look great! I have a slight underbite case, they wanted to break and reset my jaw, never got insurance to cover it and definitely cAnt afford the surgery myself.

Was it weird after seeing such an amazing transformation on your face? I mean, you've gotta like your new looks, it' looks so much better to me.

Thanks! :)

I'm sorry to hear that your economical situation hinders you from doing your surgery. I hope you either handles your current situation in a way that works out in a positive way for you or that your insurance company decides to change their attitude. Hang in there :)

It was really weird and different! I'm still not totally used to it even though it was 6 months ago. I really like how it came out and I feel like a new person and I always felt like "that guy with the underbite" but now that isn't an issue anymore. I'm more confident and outgoing than what I was pre-surgery.

It's not a question (well I guess it is), but did your friends recognise your voice afterwards?

My mate had something similar done at about the same age . . . lower jaw cut and moved back. We were at different Universities so I hadn't seen him for a maybe 6mths and when he called me up, I had no idea who it was. It totally changed the quality of his voice. I imagine that having your jaw in a different position would make the sounds you make different, but I thought with such a "small" change (ie, the 1cm back thing) it wouldn't be that major!

but did your friends recognise your voice afterwards?

some did, some didn't. It was some that didn't recognize me at all and some only recognized me because they remembered my eyes. But I do have a slightly different voice, resonance and mostly a different pronunciation of different letters.

Nice to hear about your mate and I don't think it is uncommon. :)

Ive got an under-bite as well and they wanted me to have surgery when I was a wee lad. It never went thru for some reason or another. Its not very noticeable on me though. Cause I got a big fat face.

Would you consider that surgery a cosmetic one or would it deemed medically necessary?

By the sound of it, you don't seem too bothered with your underbite. That for me is a sign of a very strong personality. Kudos to you!

Mine was more medically necessary than cosmetic. I really looked forward to eating normally and sleeping normally and feel like a normal person. I needed the surgery both from a medical and psychological point-of-view.

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Hey, Thanks! I wasn't really too frightened of the idea of surgery (if this was a good or bad attribute is for someone else to decide).

Has it been, or was it afterwards, difficult to chew, talk, etc?

When I had my jaws freed I had major difficulties eating and talking and moving my jaws at all. The muscles were so stiffed from being in the same position in 6 weeks. I started eating challenging foods right away, like nuggets and hot dogs. Purely beause if I didn't do it it would take even longer to get my muscles relaxed. Talking is still a bit tricky since I learned all my pronunciations with an underbite and now all suddenly I have to learn to pronounce things again. Saying air/ear/stairs are all very hard still and /th/ pronunciations becomes /f/. Still learning and progressing every day tho! :)

How has your outlook on life changed since the surgery? Do you find you have more self confidence?

All for the better. I had MAJOR issues because of my underbite and I feel more confident now afterwards. I used to hid myself from the outside world before, if I wore clothes I tried to hide my underbite with scarves and such but now I can be more relaxed and enjoy life without having to think of how I look "in the eyes of the others". I'm still not fully adjusted to it, so sometimes when I look in the mirror I feel all "Who's that?! oh right, new face." in a good way!

You look amazing, and also much more youthful.

Do you know what caused your condition, is it a family trait?

thank you!

No idea actually. My parents nor my brother have an underbite but I am guessing that the gene was suppressed and "skipped" 2-3 generations. It is rumored that my grandfather (or was it my great grandfather?) had an underbite. But I have never met them so I can't tell for sure!

Wow! You look really good! Did it hurt a lot? And if your jaw was fixed, how did you eat? Also, how happy are you with the results? Have other people noticed?

Did it hurt a lot?

I answered this in an earlier post. But if you can't be bothered to look it up, I'll sum up in that: Yes, it did hurt quite a bit. But it decreased slightly all the time. But it was a consistent pain for the first weeks so I was on a strict medication schedule.

And if your jaw was fixed, how did you eat?

I ate by using large syringes (without needles) and I pushed food through the gaps of my teeths. Here's a pic of my syringes. http://i.imgur.com/smw8s.jpg I ate proteinshakes and soups of different kinds. No solid food in any way. The first 2 days I ate about 4 dl on the whole 48 hours, because I hadn't figured out that those syringes were an excellent food utensil. I lost about 8 kilograms during these 6 weeks.

Also, how happy are you with the results? Have other people noticed?

I am very satisfied with the outcomes and this is a life changing experience! I feel better in all ways. All my relatives and friends have noticed and find it incredible on many levels.

I'm going to have to get an overbite fixed soon at some point. Not looking forward to the surgery but I am looking forward to the improved sleep. Did you have to go through braces first like I'm going to have to? If so for how long?

I had braces about 3 years before the surgery. First on the lower jaw (it needed quite a lot of readjusting) and then after 18 months I had the full package (both jaws). My upper jaw was nearly perfect and needed no real adjustments while my lower jaw needed to have two teeth (wisdom teeth at the very back) removed and slight alignments so that when my jaws were to be put together, they'd bite normally.

Good luck and I'll be rooting for you! (somehow...)

• How long did it hurt after the surgery or does it still hurt?
• Was it only for cosmetic purpose?
• Why a surgery and not something ...mh... softer maybe in your childhood?

Is the before pic maybe a bad perspective? It looks a little bit "extreme".

How long did it hurt after the surgery or does it still hurt?

The most painful moments was from the surgery to around 3-4 days post-surgery. I stayed 2 nights at the hospital where I got painkillers (morphine and prescription medication) every 4-8 hours, depending on how much on a 1-10 scale I was hurting. The first 2 weeks I slept sitting up because I couldn't, because of the pain, sleep laying down and during this time I took prescription medication (codine and ibruprofen) regularly. As soon as I woke up, without it I couldn't enjoy the day.

After 4ish weeks the pain started to leave and I only took medicine when I really hurted (from sleeping badly or nerves coming back to life).

Now, I am still numb on a very small area on my lower jaw but no pain.

Was it only for cosmetic purpose?

It wasn't for cosmetic purposes at all, I had major difficulties with eating and sleeping. I slept with my mouth opened every night (unconsciously) which contributed to my throat being dried up and I got sick a lot because of this.

And also I got social phobia because of my looks and had very low self esteem and trust issues because of my underbite.

Why a surgery and not something ...mh... softer maybe in your childhood?

I visited over 5 different doctors and everyone said the same. If I had done something else to prevent my underbite from growing, it could have grown anyway. Which would have made all that effort to prevent it just a waste of time and effort.

Those pictures from before are the best I had and it represents how it really looked pre-surgery. It was a very extreme case of an underbite.