iii. Introduction - How Do I Make My Jaws Bigger?
Post #3 of the JawHacks eBook "Fix Your Face"
How Do I Make My Jaws Bigger?
This is the question that all readers of this book will have in common.
Some will ask that question because they want to cure sleep apnea or UARS. Others will ask it because they are looksmaxxing and want to become more attractive.
Regardless of why you want to expand your jaws, the universal truths of how to expand apply to all of us.
The purpose of this book is to deliver the answer.
Other Jaw Books Don’t Answer This Question
This book can also be seen as a response to two recently published works that identify the prevalence of small jaws, but don’t answer the question of how to make them bigger.
Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic by Kahn and Ehrlich (Fig. B)
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor (Fig. C).
Jaws (2018) and Breath (2020) make it clear that many of us have small jaws, and that the consequences are dire.
But they come up short in offering solutions.
In fact, it’s worse than that. They both offer the wrong solutions for adults.
Dr. Sandra Kahn, author of Jaws, is an advocate of Orthotropic tooth-borne expanders such as Biobloc in adults.
And James Nestor, in Breath, pursues the Homeoblock tooth-borne expander as the solution to his small jaw conundrum.
Unfortunately, both of these authors hook adult readers with a correct diagnosis, then drag them off the cliff with ineffective and destructive tooth-borne cures.
I believe Kahn and Nestor mean well, but like most doctors and patients in this space, they have fallen victim to the “Less Invasive Fallacy” (more on this in later chapters).
That is, they think removable, tooth-borne expanders are less invasive because they don’t involve surgical cuts and scary screws placed into the palate.
But the opposite is true. By placing expansive orthodontic forces onto adult teeth, these appliances cause major periodontal damage.
This permanent dental damage is far worse than the temporary, fast-healing cuts and breaks involved in more effective skeletal procedures.
So, even though the tooth-borne appliances Kahn and Nestor advocate seem more “natural” and less invasive, they are actually far more invasive than nasomaxillary expanders and jaw surgery.
Fix Your Face takes the good from Kahn and Nestor but leaves the rest.
They identify the problem, but I help adult readers find the correct solution.
A Product Review of Jaw Expansion Treatments
Disclaimer - I am not a dentist. I am not a doctor. I am not a licensed healthcare provider of any kind. There are no letters that come after my name.
But for the purposes of this book, that doesn’t matter. Think of this book as a product comparison.
Famous YouTuber MKBHD reviews phones, laptops and other tech for a living. Is he an electronics or software engineer? No.
But he is an experienced end user, like me.
MKBHD knows which features to look for, and which to avoid. He has an understanding of tech history and is always up to speed with the state of the market.
Most importantly, he actually tries gear before judging it, making sure that he understands the real world experience of a product beyond anything an advertisement or spec sheet could ever capture.
The purpose of this book is not to diagnose or treat you.
It is simply to do a 2024 state of the market analysis of treatments available for adults seeking jaw expansion.
Choosing the right “product,” as we will see, is very consequential to the face you will wear for the rest of your life.
To be clear — after reading this book, you will still need to consult with a dentist or doctor in order to be examined, diagnosed and prescribed any treatment.
If I Had Read the Reviews
When I became a shopper for jaw expansion treatments in 2014, there were no such product reviews available.
The internet had not yet caught wind of airway-focused orthodontics.
One might stumble upon the occasional Mewing reference, but only in the deepest corners of the web.
So without consumer reports, early adopters of Mewing and artificial expansion ventured down dead-end, dangerous treatment paths. Those same paths are still widely available and promoted today.
The purpose of this book is to prevent you from stumbling onto those paths.
Common Jaw Expansion Mistakes to Avoid
Undiagnosed small jaws - most dentists and doctors consider small jaws normal. The first and hardest step is realizing you have a problem, even when the professionals deny it to your face
Attempting to expand the jaws with “Hard Mewing” as an adult.
“Airway” or “TMJ” focused general dentists offering dangerous tooth-borne treatments.
Botched execution of skeletal expanders and orthognathic surgeries.
Jaws and Health
If you avoid these pitfalls and make the right choices about expansion, you stand to gain beauty and health, form and fitness.
Health-wise, by expanding your jaws you will improve your ability to breathe. Improved breathing can be the gateway to an upward spiral of health and well-being.
When we breathe better, we sleep better, exercise more comfortably, and naturally adopt better posture.
My own improved sleep, exercise and posture have made all the pains and sorrows of my jaw journey worth it.
Good sleep, daily exercise, and proper posture now form the foundation atop which I have built the rest of my life.
They are essential to my ongoing 90% cure of my chronic migraine condition.
As recently as 2018 I was bedridden with headaches. Now I am running two businesses, and married with a child.
Jaws and Beauty
Profound aesthetic improvements follow on the heels of successful jaw expansion too.
Of course, when it comes to jaw structure, health and beauty are two sides of the same coin.
Bigger, better-breathing jaws are more beautiful.
Nasomaxillary expansion via EASE or MSE splits and widens the maxilla, giving you increased oral and nasal volume which improves breathing dramatically.
But that widening also gives you a broader, Hollywood smile and sharper cheekbones, two key indicators of facial beauty.
Double jaw surgery advances both jaws, pulling the tongue out of the airway to cure sleep apnea.
But it also enhances the lower jawline, reduces the nasolabial angle, and provides counterclockwise rotation – again, all objective indicators of facial beauty.
Expanding Into an Upward Spiral
Health improvements also circle back and become aesthetic improvements.
When we sleep better, we become much healthier and begin to radiate with vitality rather than appear half-dead with bags under our eyes.
When we train, we become fitter and sexier.
And when our posture improves, people see us as more “upright,” confident and attractive overall.
All of these health improvements then feedback into each other and we enter an upward spiral of improved form and function.
TL/DR of the Entire Book
Mewing, i.e. natural oral posture, is constant, starting right now, continuing through expansion, and persisting through your entire life until the day you die.
Mewing will not appreciably change bone structure in adults, but it is still necessary for the development and function of soft tissues in the face, head and neck.
Critically, Mewing is also necessary for stabilizing bone change achieved with nasomaxillary expanders and jaw surgery.
Regarding artificial expansion, after finding a provider who acknowledges your deficiency, the next challenge is avoiding harmful treatments.
JawHacks is a play on words—a reference to the necessity of bone breaking. You cannot expand the jaws by pushing on teeth.
Avoid tooth borne expanders as they provide only minimal expansion and at the great cost of damaging roots, gums, and periodontal bone.
Safe, robust expansion in adults requires breaking bone.
Start with a nasomaxillary expander like EASE or a custom MSE/MARPE, or possibly FME (we are waiting for FME results to come in during 2024).
For adults (especially men), a proper surgical assist is needed to release the sutures, allowing these expanders to work smoothly, unhindered.
Use the most experienced providers possible as nasomaxillary expanders are finicky and can do more harm than good if severe asymmetry or over-expansion occur.
There is no way to safely get forward expansion without double jaw surgery, so if you want more gains after nasomaxillary expansion then consider MMA with a top-tier airway-conscious surgeon.
Budget for the absolute best surgeon you can afford. Pay once, cry once, and enjoy your new face for the rest of your life.
Next Post
Next week I will post the Preface, a synopsis of my own 8 year expansion journey, and all the lessons learned therein.
Comments?
Have you read Jaws by Sandra Kahn or Breath by James Nestor?
Who is your favorite example of facial beauty and/or athleticism?
Have you ever considered a tooth-borne expander?
Do bone-anchored expanders and jaw surgery seem “too invasive” to you?
Let me know below!
One day after contacting Dr. Alfi to see if I can get a consult with him in LA, I watched Lamar Jackson carve up my 49ers last night.
I considered FAGGA, but I hesitated for years and glad I did. The only thing that is too invasive is something that is more invasive than it needs to be, and even that is subjective. It depends on goals, limits and availability of treatment, and individual preference.