maxillofacial oral surgery

SOMETIMES JAW GROWTH is uneven. It can produce jaws of different sizes right and left. One side may be too far forward or too far back. Uneven jaw growth may cause the face to look off-center or crooked.

Uneven Jaws Cause Problems For Your Smile

With uneven jaws, teeth do not fit together properly. A too-small, too-large, or crooked jaw with poor tooth position can make chewing, smiling, speaking, breathing, and even sleeping more difficult. An improper bite caused by jaw asymmetry may also lead to jaw pain or excessive tooth wear.

We Can Help Give You A Straight Smile

Uneven jaws can be fixed. Your orthodontist can help. Working together with a maxillofacial oral surgeon, your orthodontist will align your dental arches and teeth with braces or Invisalign to prepare you for orthognathic jaw surgery. Your uneven jaws will be repositioned and your smile, teeth, and bite form and function will be improved forever.

Jaw Alignment Restores Facial Symmetry

Once jaws are brought into alignment, dental midlines will match facial midlines and facial balance will be restored. Your bite and face will be more symmetrical and you will look and feel great.

Jaw corrections are all done within the mouth. Incisions, screws or plates (fixation devices) won't be seen or felt with jaw surgery. The short side of the jaw will be lengthened and the long side of the jaw will be shortened. The chin will also be centered (genioplasty). Your natural look will make it difficult for anyone to know that you had jaw surgery done at all.

If you have uneven jaws, we're here to help. Call us at Gorczyca Orthodontics, 5201 Deer Valley Road in Antioch, California (925) 757-9000. Visit us at www.clubbraces.com.

Uneven jaws can be corrected. Enjoy your results for the rest of your life, and keep smiling!

Your smile is our inspiration.

Top image by Flickr user Yann Caradec used under Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE to widen your dental arch for a gold medal smile.

As an adult, broadening your upper jaw may include an orthopedic palatal expansion procedure called SARPE.

SARPE Can Improve Your Bite And Broaden Your Smile

SARPE, surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion, uses oral surgery to lightly release bony sutures of the upper jaw, the maxilla, with an expansion appliance. SARPE expands nasal passages to improve breathing and broadens your dental arch for a big, beautiful smile.

Oral surgeons and orthodontists work together to make SARPE available. Less rapid expansion is often used for increased comfort and stability. Adults age 30 and older with narrow upper dental arches and palates are helped by SARPE to gain a broad, comfortable, and functional bite.

We Can Give You A Winning Smile

This case was treated by Board Certified Orthodontist Dr. Ann Marie Gorczyca of Gorczyca Orthodontics, in Antioch, California. Our office is located within driving distance from San Jose and most cities in the San Francisco Bay Area and is open 5 days a week for your convenience. With over 25 years experience and having treated over 10,000 patients, Dr. Gorczyca guarantees satisfaction and treats each patient one at a time, with tender loving care.

Call us at 925-757-9000 for a personalized and private orthodontic consultation. Find us at www.clubbraces.com.

Time off from work with SARPE may be 3 weeks.Time off from rigorous sports training may be 3 months. This SARPE case above took 33 months from start to completion.

Go for a gold medal smile with SARPE. Start today and have your gorgeous new smile ready for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Top image by Flickr user Agência Brasil Fotografias used under Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

WHAT IF SOMEONE HAD done short-term ortho on Jackie O?

The result would have been hideous. An obvious Class II Division 2 skeletal malocclusion, if a dental care provider had straightened Jackie O's tipped in and crowded upper front teeth without surgery or extractions she would have ended up looking like Bart Simpson.

This is something a real orthodontist would never do. Yet, primary providers, uneducated in orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning, offer short term orthodontic treatment with braces or Invisalign to skeletal Class II patients without correcting the underlying skeletal problem.

Short-term Orthodontic Treatment May Reveal Other Issues

Straightening of severely tipped and crowded upper front teeth in a Class II Division 2 bite actually unmasks the horizontal jaw discrepancy giving these patients a new appearance of "buck teeth" following short-term ortho.

If left without moving the lower jaw forward or upper tooth extraction, non-correction of the underlying skeletal problem leads to many new problems including:

• Poor facial appearance
• Lip incompetence, open lips
• Lip biting
• Speech problems
• Front tooth display at rest
• Increased risk of front tooth trauma
• Lower tooth overeruption
• Upper palate biting
• Impinging deep bite
• Poor bite
• Excessive tooth wear

Correcting Short-term Ortho Mistakes Can Be Costly

Once the severe overjet and overbite is worsened by short term ortho, most patients seek orthodontic correction with an orthodontist. Unfortunately, many of these patients have already paid $4,500 to a provider of short term ortho. Now, a real orthodontist must tell the patient that their orthodontic treatment must be redone correctly for an additional cost of $7,000. This is a very unfortunate and uncomfortable situation.

Patients are being hurt physically, emotionally, and financially by not getting initial diagnosis and treatment by an orthodontist. Once this happens, trust in the primary provider of short-term ortho is gone forever.

Don't be one of these unfortunate patients. Do your research and get information about orthodontists and orthodontic treatment.

If You Have Questions, Contact An Orthodontist

If you have questions regarding short-term orthodontic treatment, seek orthodontic care with a real orthodontist, a dentist who has completed an additional two or three years of full time residency and has had intensive training to become an expert in orthodontics. Find an orthodontist by choosing a member of the American Association of Orthodontists at www.mylifemysmile.org.

The Class II Division 2 smile can be spotted by an orthodontist or maxillofacial oral surgeon from the nose bleed section of the audience. It requires a mandibular advancement surgery or upper tooth extraction for a beautiful and ideal result.

Here are some facts regarding mandibular advancement surgery in the year 2016:

• Can be completed in as little as 13 months
• Wiring shut is not required
• Cost usually covered by medical insurance
• Over night hospital stay usually not needed
• Done within the mouth
• No permanent bruising or scaring
• Increases the airway
• Lessens snoring
• Reduces sleep apnea

If you have questions regarding mandibular advancement jaw surgery, contact an oral surgeon, an expert in face, mouth and jaw surgery. You can find an oral surgeon at the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons at www.aaoms.org.

If you have a Class II Division 2 bite like Jackie O, fix it correctly or do nothing at all.

Thanks for the smiles, Jackie O.

WE’VE ALL HEARD THE ROUSING MAXIM: “keep your chin up” as a cheerful reminder to remain positive and persistent.

In comprehensive orthodontic treatment, surprisingly, some chins literally and physically need to be brought up.

A Genioplasty Can Restore The Balance Of The Face

The maxillofacial procedure to lift a chin is called genioplasty. This chin augmentation procedure can be completed as an implant or a sliding restructuring of the chin bone.

Sliding a piece of chin bone upward and forward may improve the harmony and balance of a face. Done from within the lower lip, a genioplasty is a relatively easy surgical procedure and does not require an overnight hospital stay.

Get A Beautiful Smile From Every Angle

When genioplasty is benefical, your orthodontist will work closely with a maxillofacial oral surgeon to give you the gorgeous profile you desire as well as beautiful teeth and a healthy and functional bite.

This case was treated by Board Certified orthodontist Dr. Ann Marie Gorczyca of Gorczyca Orthodontics, Antioch, CA. Find us at www.clubbraces.com or call (925) 757-9000 for a complimentary consultation.

So keep your head high,
keep your chin up, and
most importantly,
keep smiling, because
life’s a beautiful thing and
there’s so much to smile about.
-Marilyn Monroe