In the past, overbites, underbites, and crossbites were incredibly hard to fix and often required painful and expensive jaw surgery and tooth extractions. Today, jaw surgery is no longer necessary to correct an underdeveloped jaw, fix bite problems, and much more. Instead, we use facial growth orthodontics at StarImage dentistry.
Fixed Anterior Growth Guidance Appliances (FAGGA) can help your face develop to your genetic potential, improve your smile, resolve TMJ symptoms, and help you look younger. Find out if jaw expansion without surgery is right for you.
What Can Jaw Expansion Accomplish?
Jaw expansion can benefit a number of patients. Ultimately, it can accomplish the following:
- Create room for orthodontics without needing extractions
- Improved airway
- Reduce TMJ pain/services/tmj’}}}}
- Improved facial aesthetics, including profile
- Straightened teeth
- Improved posture
This one treatment can accomplish each of these completely without surgery!
What is a Fixed Anterior Growth Guidance Appliance (FAGGA)?
So how do we expand your jaw without surgery? We use fixed anterior growth guidance appliances. Many dentists already use expanders to expand the dental arches, but what makes FAGGA different is that it expands the anteroposterior (maxillary advancement) which is important for resolving bite, TMJ, and possibly airway problems.
The FAGGA is fixed in the mouth and cannot be taken out. Instead, patients will visit us every four to six weeks for adjustments (just like traditional orthodontics). Once we create enough space in your mouth, patients usually require braces to finish moving teeth into position. Afterward, we will attach a lingual wire to prevent your teeth from shifting back.
Benefits of Facial Growth Orthodontics
Following your jaw expansion treatment, you will have an expanded upper jaw towards the front and on the sides and it will be able to accommodate all of your permanent teeth including wisdom teeth if they erupt correctly. The lower jaw will rest in the correct position in harmony with the TM joint and facial muscles. The enlarged space in your mouth will allow the tongue to rest comfortably against the roof of the mouth which then opens up the airways inside the nose and at the back of the throat.
Your appearance will also look different. For one, your posture will look straighter, the lower jaw more symmetrical, more defined jawline, better-angled jaw, fewer smile lines, and fuller lips and cheeks. Upturned noses can even straighten out.
There are really no downsides to facial growth orthodontics. If another dentist has told you that you need jaw expansion surgery, please contact our dentists at StarImage Dentistry in Wichita Falls, TX at 940-322-2252 to schedule an appointment to learn if facial growth orthodontics is right for you. We can help you avoid unnecessary, painful, and expensive jaw surgery with our alternative solution.
