This is Michelle- she had her double jaw surgery at EU and had one of the more severe cases of lantern jaw.
What is lantern jaw?
You might know lantern jaw by another name: underbite.
Lantern jaw is genetic and cannot be prevented. The severity of lantern jaw is varied; sometimes it is so mild that it can be difficult to tell if someone has an underbite from just looking at them. Severe cases are more obvious visually but can also cause difficulty chewing food, interfere with speech, and even difficulty breathing. Lantern jaw is often accompanied by TMJ (also known as TMD), a tightness in the jaw joints that can be painful or can produce a clicking sound when you open and close your jaw.
How do you treat lantern jaw?
Lantern jaw can be treated by a combination of double jaw surgery and orthodontics. If your bite (the way your upper and lower teeth come together) is determined to be okay, then there are cases in which the surgery can be done without using braces. In most cases, braces are necessary either before or after the surgery.
The doctor will need x-rays and CT scans of the patient to see the thickness of their jawbones and the exact position of their nerves in order to determine which method of surgery is better suited to them.
You can watch Dr. Kim explain the difference between the two methods here
Before and after Michelle's surgery.
In Michelle's case, she has undergone double jaw surgery using the SSRO method along with V-line and zygoma (cheekbone) reduction surgery. In the X-ray, you can see the amount her lower jaw was moved back and how her upper jaw was rotated to meet her lower jaw. You can also see the position of where the pins will be for each surgery.
The zygoma reduction surgery can be done at the same time as the double jaw surgery, but has no relation to the jaw, whereas the V-line surgery is done either to trim any jagged lines that result from the double jaw surgery or to drastically change the shape of the face. The V-line surgery consists of both the genioplasty (chin surgery) and the angle reduction surgery (square jaw surgery).
You can watch Michelle's journey with EU here
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