Mandibular retrognathia may cause aesthetic problems, headaches, chewing difficulties, and even sleep apnea. We will explain what it’s and the way it’s treated here.
Mandibular retrognathia is a typical deformity of the teeth and face. The word retrognathia comes from Latin retro, which suggests “back”; and from Greek gnathos, i.e. “jaw”. In other words, this is the misalignment between the mandible and the jawbone.
In most cases, the cause is the abnormal development of the jaw bone. As a result the jaw is about back and more back than normal. Thus, by taking a look at the affected person’s profile, it is simple to see the modified position.
The problem with this malformation is that it affects not only aesthetics, but in addition perhaps too result in a lot of dental and health complications. Want to know more about it? In this text, you’ll learn what it’s, what are the possible causes, and what treatments can be found to treatment it.
What is mandibular retrognathia?
Mandibular retrognathia is a bone deformity. It so happens that it exists discrepancy between the dimensions of the maxillary and mandibular bones. Therefore, they’re ill-matched to one another.
The meaning of that is that the tooth rows also don’t match up. The jaw is “set back” in relation to the jaw. According to the article from Everest Dental Clinicit’s considered one of the sorts of malocclusion that sometimes causes problems within the bite and facial aesthetics.
It can appear since the jaw is more developed than normal or, quite the opposite, since the jaw is underdeveloped. It may even be a mixture of each aspects. Looking in profile at an individual with retrognathia, the lower surface has a concave shape.
It can also be generally known as a category II compound or short jaw.
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Symptoms related to this condition
Mandibular retrognathia has a major aesthetic impact. As a publication Maxillofacial Institute explains that there may be an abnormal relationship between the jawbone and the mandible. This causes disharmony of facial expression.
The upper dentition protrudes above the lower teeth and lower jaw. Thus, when taking a look at this person in profile, the chin is sunken and there is no such thing as a protruding jaw. This can result in problems with self-esteem and self-confidence.
Among other things, those affected often have chewing difficulties and dental problems. Similarly, temporomandibular joint involvement is common, as will probably be explained later.
What causes mandibular retrognathia?
This condition normally begins during development or growth. However, this it might occur at any time in life, even though it is somewhat less common. To understand why this happens, it is crucial to know how jaw develops normally.
As explained within the publication at StatPearls explain, the jaw bone begins to ossify within the sixth week of pregnancy . The maxillary condyle is the part that connects to the skull through the temporomandibular joint. It develops later, around ten weeks of pregnancy.
Gradually, the lower jaw grows forward and down, while the condyle also forms. In women, full development is normally across the age of 17 or 18. In men, it might reach the age of 20.
In individuals who have mandibular retrognathia, this happens this increase normally stops much earlier. As a result, the lower jaw is pushed back and out of alignment with the upper jaw. It may occur that the jawbone develops faster than normal.
When it appears in adult life, it’s resulting from various reasons. A serious injury to the jaw or temporomandibular joint can limit growth. This also can occur when surgeries are performed on the cranial level.
Possible complications
This condition may cause serious complications that transcend aesthetic problems. For example, some children start experiencing problems from birth.
This is since the misalignment between the 2 bones can prevent them from adequately sucking the mother’s nipple. As a result, feeding becomes difficult and problems with malnutrition arise.
On the opposite hand, the indisputable fact that the 2 bones don’t fit together properly signifies that the dental rows don’t fit together either. The position of the teeth allows chewing and crushing food.
Therefore, when this happens, biting and chewing will be difficult.
In addition, as you age, your teeth develop into more crooked or shifted. People with mandibular retrognathia often have temporomandibular joint disorders. The gathered tension within the jaw and joint causes muscle spasms and severe pain within the jaw and headache.
Another common complication is obstructive sleep apnea – that’s, respiratory problems occur during sleep, which might even result in episodes of cessation of respiratory at night. These episodes cause the person to sleep poorly and feel drowsy in the course of the day.
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Available methods of mandibular retrognathia treatment
Mandibular retrognathia normally requires treatment. In order to start out treatment, it is crucial, initially, to make the proper diagnosis. For many individuals, a physical examination is normally sufficient. However, additional tests are sometimes done to substantiate the diagnosis.
Radiography is important. The mostly used is the so-called lateral cephalometric image. Thanks to this system, it is feasible to research the skull and its full dimensions, to see if the jaw is less developed than normal. The angle, length and relationship to the remaining of the facial skeleton are also studied.
After the examination is accomplished, treatment will be planned if essential. If the case is mild and symptomatic, it is just not at all times essential to treat it. However, in the next sections, we’ll explain which options are mostly used.
Treatment of infants and youngsters
Treatment of retrognathia in infants and youngsters is it is normally based on the applying of orthodontics. The thing is, they’re still growing. Therefore, an attempt will be made to decelerate the expansion of the jaw. This is finished with some sort of headgear that puts pressure on it.
The reason is that there is no such thing as a method to stimulate jaw growth as such. Orthodontics can provide superb leads to mild to moderate cases. However, severe cases normally require further treatment in adolescence or maturity.
Treatment of adolescents and adults
Once growth is slowed down, it is vitally difficult to switch mandibular retrognathia with orthodontics alone. This technique will be useful when the issue is solely dental. This is it it is meant only to correct the alignment or bite of the teeth, but not the form of the jaw.
There are patients who wish to correct their features – for instance, a deep chin or a receding chin. In such cases, if the dental problem has already been resolved, a mentoplasty will be advisable.
Severe cases related to problems equivalent to sleep apnea normally require surgery. This involves intervention on the jawbone or the mandibular and maxillary bones. The idea is to attempt to reconstruct them to get a precise alignment.
Remember: Mandibular retrognathia is just not only an aesthetic issue
Mandibular retrognathia is an issue that causes the mandible to be in an abnormal position, it’s positioned further than normal. Therefore, the profile of those people shows a sunken chin and a concave shape.
The problem is that this condition may cause complications beyond aesthetics. For example, it’s related to temporomandibular joint disorders and obstructive sleep apnea. That is why it’s so vital to attempt to diagnose and treat this disease as soon as possible.
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