For those who have been troubled by their protruding lips every time they look in the mirror!
It’s a fact that just because your lips are protruding, it doesn’t automatically mean you have a protruded jaw 😗.
Q. How can we distinguish between a protruded jaw and a receding chin? 🤔
Q. If I get braces, will my protruded jaw go back?
It can be really challenging to differentiate and determine the treatment methods on your own 😭.
From now on, Dr. MACS Bong will explain everything in detail!
Recently, many patients are interested in making their face appear smaller and creating a youthful look. A youthful appearance often not only involves a smaller face but also a slightly recessed chin. While a nicely contoured chin is not an issue, if the chin is too far back, it can resemble a receding chin or make the upper jaw appear protruded.
Many patients often worry and think, "Oh, my face looks like my mouth is a bit protruded," or "My chin seems to be recessed," leading them to assume they need protruded jaw surgery. In reality, protruded jaws can be categorized in various ways. Visually, protruded jaws and receding chins can look similar, so to make an accurate diagnosis and assessment, it’s necessary to undergo a CT scan for precise analysis.
Commonly, when diagnosing a protruded jaw, there are generally three cases.
The first case is when the upper and lower jaw bones are fine, but the teeth are significantly protruding forward. In this case, the lips may appear to protrude as well.
The second case is when the maxilla is actually protruding significantly forward.
The third case refers to a situation where the teeth are not significantly protruding, and the maxilla is not sticking out; rather, it is normal, but the lower jaw is too small and has retreated significantly, which is often what we refer to as a "receding chin."
Another case is when these three scenarios are mixed together.
Shall we go over the characteristics of each case?
In instances where the teeth are significantly protruding outward, there is often a sunken appearance around the nose area. In these cases, the maxilla is generally in its normal position, but the teeth themselves are protruding, which is typical of this particular scenario.
The second case is when the maxilla itself is protruding. In this case, the area around the nose does not appear sunken; instead, there is an overall fullness extending forward, including around the nose. A characteristic of these patients is that they often show a lot of gum when they smile.
In cases of a receding chin, individuals often have difficulty closing their mouths properly, and they may develop prominent chin wrinkles whenever they do close their mouths. Additionally, when viewed from the side, patients with a receding chin may have a very short chin and neck, making the boundary between the two quite ambiguous. In such cases, it is highly likely that the individual has a receding chin.
How can we treat them?
For patients with significantly protruding teeth, one approach is to extract one small molar from each side of the upper jaw or from both the upper and lower jaws. This allows the teeth to be repositioned inward, resulting in a significantly more ideal appearance when viewed from the side. However, as mentioned earlier, if the maxilla itself, meaning the bone structure, is protruding forward, then a surgical procedure to reposition it backward will be necessary.
If a patient has not only protrusion but also length issues, lateral asymmetry, or facial curvature, simply correcting the protrusion through surgery will not resolve these problems. In such cases, double jaw surgery is often performed. If the degree of protrusion is so severe that the amount necessitating retraction is significant enough to narrow the airway space, it is also common to combine the surgery with an ASO procedure.
However, if the issue is not with the protrusion of the maxillary teeth or the maxilla itself but rather a situation where a CT scan shows that the mandible is small, then a procedure may be performed to advance the mandible through surgery, focusing solely on the lower jaw. In such cases, orthodontic treatment will, of course, need to be performed concurrently.
When the mandible is advanced, and the chin tip does not project sufficiently, additional procedures such as genioplasty may be performed to help bring the chin forward and align the bite.
Q. Can a receding chin be res
olved by getting fillers or implants in the chin?
Yes, patients often ask those questions. While it is possible to enhance a small chin’s appearance by using implants, it is important to select the cases carefully. If the mandible is very small and an implant is simply placed, it can result in an awkward appearance when viewed from the side, as that area may appear disproportionally protruded.
Typically, many implants are made of silicone, and there are numerous cases where patients experience issues later on, such as significant indentations in the chin or bone resorption, which can result in pain or other sensory abnormalities, leading them to seek removal of the implant. If you are considering getting an implant, Dr. Park would recommend opting for a genioplasty procedure instead, where the chin is surgically cut and slightly advanced forward.
Today, we explored whether you might have a protruded jaw or a receding chin, why this can be confusing, what categories exist, the various surgical options available for each condition, and whether placing an implant in the chin is truly the correct solution.
Above all, it is essential that patients do not make these decisions on their own. We always recommend visiting a hospital with knowledgeable experts who can provide accurate analysis and diagnosis using proper diagnostic equipment. It’s important to discuss and consider your options together.
For those who wants consulting knowledgeable experst, leave a question on our website, https://macs.co.kr/eng/qna/ and Dr.Park, Jae-bong will personally reply to it.