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Upper jaw surgery and the philtrum

Surgical

Hi, I was wondering if shortening the upper jaw would reduce the perceived height of my philtrum from the frontal view. I've seen videos showing animations of impactions, but the actual perceived length of the philtrum doesn't seem to get any shorter. But I've also seen videos and animations of where it does, and now I'm confused.

I'm considering some kind of upper jaw surgery to fix my narrow smile, my palate is not narrow, my upper jaw is a little too long, I'm just wondering if it will change any lip assessments or change the length of my philtrum in any way.

Thanks.

Maxillary_Impaction.jpg
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  • looksthread
    looksthread

    Yeah, it can make the philtrum look a bit shorter from the front, but it doesn’t actually shorten the philtrum itself. It’s more to do with how the upper lip moves after the maxilla is impacted.

    How noticeable it is really depends on the person, which is probably why you’re seeing different results in animations. It can also affect things like upper lip length and how much tooth show you have.

    If you’re considering it, I’d ask your surgeon to show you a soft tissue prediction using your own scans/photos, as that’ll be much more useful than generic animations.

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    • 45_hundered
      45_hundered

      Ahh okay, that makes a lot more sense. Thanks :)

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