Sinsa Station Dental Clinic: Can Facial Asymmetry Be Corrected Without Surgery?

Sinsa Station Dental Clinic: Can Facial Asymmetry Be Corrected Without Surgery?

Hello.

I’m Oh Su-hwan, an orthodontic specialist with 18 years of experience.

Most people who want orthodontic treatment have some degree of asymmetry, although the extent varies.

Issues such as a mismatch in the facial midline or a tilted occlusal plane.

Or, as people get older, it is also common for the teeth to become tilted or for one side of the jaw to become larger or shifted.

What you may be wondering is whether facial asymmetry can really be corrected with orthodontics.

Let me start with the conclusion.

It is not possible to say that orthodontic treatment alone can completely resolve facial asymmetry.

However, the degree of asymmetry can be improved to some extent.

I’ll go into more detail in the following article,

so if you were looking for a Sinsa Station dental clinic because of facial asymmetry, reading this post first will be helpful. ^^

Why does facial asymmetry occur?

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In fact, most people’s left and right facial shapes are slightly different.

However, if the degree of asymmetry is severe, the left and right sides of the face can look clearly different, which can naturally become a source of concern.

It can also lead to various problems such as snoring or temporomandibular joint disorders.

So, why does facial asymmetry happen?

There are two main causes.

One is genetic factors, where some people are born with facial asymmetry in their DNA,

meaning that one side of the jaw or one side of the face is genetically larger or smaller.

Another reason is environmental factors.

People may chew only on one side, rest their chin on their hand, suck their thumb,

or have the jaw grow asymmetrically due to an accident in childhood.

Asymmetry that develops this way usually refers to skeletal asymmetry of the facial bones.

However, in some cases, asymmetry appears because of the arrangement of the teeth themselves.

For example, in a normal state, the upper and lower teeth do not fit together properly,

and a person may need to turn the jaw to one side for the teeth to fit together and feel comfortable.

In such cases, the asymmetry is caused by tooth alignment.

You may be wondering how much improvement is actually possible with orthodontics.

First of all, skeletal asymmetry, such as a difference in the left-right length of the lower jaw or differences in shape,

is difficult to resolve with orthodontic treatment alone and may require a surgical approach.

That is because orthodontics aligns the teeth and corrects the bite; it cannot change the shape of the jawbone itself.

However, if the cause of the asymmetry is tooth alignment, improvement is possible to some extent.

Even if skeletal asymmetry remains to some degree,

the overall degree of asymmetry can be reduced and improved.

What is the treatment process for patients with mixed asymmetry?

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Let me show you a real case.

As you can see, this was a patient who came in complaining of asymmetry in tooth alignment, such as a shifted midline.

After taking an X-ray, we found that the right bone was longer than the left,

and the patient had skeletal asymmetry, with the right side of the face being larger than the left.

Because the jawbone itself was tilted, the center of the chin was also significantly偏 toward the left.

Through orthodontic treatment, we corrected the tooth alignment and improved the bite.

Of course, we cannot say that the facial balance was made completely perfect,

but by improving the occlusal plane and the asymmetry in tooth alignment,

this was a case in which improvement was seen not only in appearance but also in functional aspects.

However, depending on the case, there are limits to orthodontic treatment alone,

so please keep in mind that additional surgical correction may be necessary.

If you are worried about facial asymmetry,

it is best to first have a consultation with an orthodontic specialist at a Sinsa Station dental clinic.

Receive an accurate diagnosis of the cause of your facial asymmetry first—whether it is a skeletal problem or a tooth alignment problem—

and then make a plan for whether orthodontic treatment is appropriate or whether surgery is needed.

If you receive enough consultation about how much improvement is possible through orthodontic treatment,

you will be able to find the best solution that you are satisfied with.

Thank you. This has been Director Oh from Smile D Dental Clinic.