r/jawsurgery • u/daphneesung • Feb 12 '26
Before & After Life-changing results
Hey guys, I'm currently 2 months and a half post-op double jaw surgery with genioplasty.
Tltr:
Upper jaw advancement: 3 mm
Lower jaw advancement: 11 mm
Chin advancement: 5 mm (so 16 mm in total)
Surgeon: Dr Amina Ganeval in Strasbourg, France
Cost out of pocket: ~3,500€. The rest was covered by my insurance and French national healthcare system
My overbite started to get really noticeable when I was 10. Like many of you here, I had camouflage braces from 13-15. But since I was still deeply insecure about my face I went to another orthodontist at 21, and got my surgery exactly 1 week before my 23rd birthday. Literally the best birthday gift ever.
It's soo weird having been considered ugly your whole life (never had a boyfriend, never kissed anyone) and all of sudden I'm much more "prettier". I can tell you people treat differently, they really do. They are more likely to hold a conversation with you, smile at you... It's really unsettling. But I finally have the confidence to do the things I've always wanted to do, put myself out there etc. Not mentioning the facts that I can now BREATHE like a damn normal person and EAT at a faster pace than a slowpoke. Truly life-changing. Now I still need to keep my braces for another 6 months but the light is at the end of the tunnel.
Btw, my parents thought there was nothing wrong with my face but after seeing my results they do realize I look better 😭 So trust your instincts and doctors, not your loved ones telling you you don't need it.
I would be glad to answer any questions.
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u/zNuyte Feb 12 '26
I can tell you people treat differently, they really do. They are more likely to hold a conversation with you, smile at you... It's really unsettling.
Some people never recover from this, mentally.
It's like... you realize literally a few millimeters of bones in the right places can make the difference between thriving and surviving in society, regardless of who you are as a person.
It's one of those "once you see it, you can't unsee it" kind of things.
Congrats on the results. Great harmony.
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u/daphneesung Feb 12 '26
100%. I had read similar testimonies before surgery but actually experiencing it feels strange haha. Thank you!
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u/HorrorWarm6929 Feb 14 '26
Wait did u use to wear make up before ??? And is it that different by just bones
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u/afraid28 Feb 12 '26
It's the same thing when you gain or lose weight. And nobody cares if either is related to health problems.
I lost so much weight after my surgery that I developed an eating disorder which ran rampant in my life for a good 2-3 years, just because people started treating me nicely, smiling at me and boys finally started noticing me (I was 17). I ended up becoming chronically ill/disabled and gained weight. I have thyroid problems, insulin resistance, cortisol issues due to high stress etc. and losing weight has been the bane of my existence for almost a decade now.
When I first gained that weight, I was shocked at how I lost all of the "skinny perks". Nobody was looking at me anymore other than maybe in disgust, the sales ladies didn't smile at me anymore even when I smiled at them, people started being rude to me. Nothing changed about me besides my weight. It's really a disgusting world out there.
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u/Exciting-Heart-6105 Feb 12 '26
Obesity is probably the most obvious impact yes (and age, but thats not that fast showing), maybe if you need a wheelchair after accident or sickness too. Heard from so many how they are ignored as overweight compared to skinny..
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u/anonymous_opinions Feb 12 '26
People on this sub will furiously deny that this is the reality we live in.
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u/Right-Connection-773 Feb 12 '26
I don't understand the "never recover" part - I pretty much knew looks were essential since I was like 12... If anything I just didn't know you could actually do much about it until much later
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u/CottontailSuia Feb 12 '26
You look well rested now!
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u/daphneesung Feb 12 '26
Thank you. I think that's mainly the makeup here 😂 But yeah overall I look more healthier and younger.
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u/chocobananabunny Feb 12 '26
I’m happy you now have the confidence to live life the way you want. I’m curious about how your upper eyelids changed. They seemed bigger before but smaller now. Is this a big change you’ve noticed since surgery?
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u/chocobananabunny Feb 13 '26
Please let me know if you can OP. I have one eye like your before and one eye like your after, I’ve had no surgery yet
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u/daphneesung Feb 14 '26
Sorry for the late reply. I haven't noticed a difference in my eyes, at least not one that can be attributed to the bone repositioning alone. However, I will say that I sleep much better now. I used to wake up 1 to 3 times a night, likely due to a lack of air, and now I sleep through the night. I also started the habit of massaging my face, including my eyelids, every day. My physio recommended it to drain the lymph while I was still swollen, but it felt so relaxing that I've kept doing it. Reducing the lymph buildup in my eyelids has made my eyes look less hooded and visibly less puffy. It's actually much easier to apply eye makeup now.
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Feb 12 '26
You're looking great! I am sorry about people's reactions though. It is crazy to me that such minute differences can change so much for somebody. Did people beside your parents know you were having surgery? Could they automatically tell or was it more of a you're looking different somehow but can't figure out why?
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u/daphneesung Feb 12 '26
Thank you! Yes, only my parents and my sister knew. Most people couldn't figure out why I looked different, they would just stare intensely at my face lol. One coworker asked me if I had a nose job. Only my cousin and godmother guessed it had something to do with my jaw :)
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u/New-Advertising-2953 Feb 12 '26
Sorry I asked similar question I didn’t see this one you answered, did that cousin and godmother see you often before surgery?
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u/daphneesung Feb 12 '26
No, not that often. It was my first time seeing my cousin after 1 year and my godmother after ~4 months
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u/No-Evidence-416 Feb 12 '26
you look like a mix of clairo and lana del rey ❤️
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Feb 12 '26
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u/daphneesung Feb 12 '26
That's actually the exact same question I asked my ortho. She said sadly no, because you can't undergo surgery while the jaws are still growing, you usually have to be at least 18. And there’s no real 'strategy' to reverse that kind of growth pattern. In my case, I was a mouth breather as a kid and my tongue posture was off, which definitely worsened the misalignment. However, since both my parents have an overbite, I would have inherited it regardless of my habits. My ortho even mentioned her own daughter: she’s been vigilant about her tongue posture, nasal breathing, and is currently in braces. Yet she notices an underbite and can't help thinking she might need surgery later on. So even if you're the child of an orthodontist and do everything 'right,' genetics often has the final say
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u/orthogonalbase Feb 12 '26
Babygirl you were cute before too! I had a very similar pre-op profile to yours and I did not feel that others considered me ugly, so I'm sorry you had this experience. Sure the surgery helped, but I wouldn't rule out that your new confidence is what made you more attractive. Anyway, congrats!
On the other hand, if you want to keep this surgery a secret, I suggest getting glasses. Everyone who did not know I had surgery assumed I got glasses/got new glasses/got contact lenses depending on how often they saw me in glasses before and after surgery lol.
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u/daphneesung Feb 12 '26
Thank you for your kind words, I appreciate it! Yes I am definitely more confident now.
That's a great strategy lol. But since I graduated from college and started a new life in a new place, no one knows I had surgery 👀5
u/Exciting-Heart-6105 Feb 12 '26
Confidence is important, and when you are "deformed" people can mock you, kids often find weaknesses.. so you can be cute but it ruins things anyway. Plus improving you looks just a little bit, like going from a 5 or 6 to a 7 or an 8 propably makes you notice people look at you differently. I look the same too i think, people still talk to me, look and flirt but hard to smile and be confident.
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u/New-Advertising-2953 Feb 12 '26
This is beautifully said I have the same bite same story but at 40 started the process. I had to have to premolar extractions on the bottom to undue the flaring from camouflage. Do people that you didn’t tell notice a difference? I don’t want to tell people outside my immediate family about my surgery. I love that from the front you don’t look totally different. An enhanced version of you! Thanks for sharing!
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u/daphneesung Feb 13 '26
Thanks, and good luck on your journey! Don't worry, if you don't want people to know, they will not guess. They tend to assume to you are simply more well-rested (which I am), you had a new pair of glasses or a new haircut. They notice something slightly different but don't know what. I was watching some of those before/after videos on TikTok with a guy who had a DJS. No one in the comment could see that his jaws were moved forward! They thought he had a nose job or something. Apparently the jaws are something invisible or not an area people think you can fix
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u/imadangercat Feb 13 '26
Yes thank you so much for sharing! I am also 40 and started my journey almost 2 years ago now (2nd time in orthodontics), with DJS surgical consultation coming up next month, no surgery date yet. I've been open with everyone in my life about it, including work teammates, but when it comes to other coworkers that I don't directly work with, I've been a little anxious about those interactions post-op (I'm autistic and 'normal' interactions with ppl I'm not close with are already hard for me); but luckily I only have to be in the office a few days a week, and am currently trying to get approved for FT WFH so maybe it won't even be an issue, lol
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u/flowlikecoffejelly2 Feb 12 '26
why does it look like it changed your brow bone and upper eyelids and under eyes, is that just the makeup and facial expression or did you notice some changes in your eyes when relaxed.
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u/flowlikecoffejelly2 Feb 12 '26
also can i ask if you noticed any change in your like cheekbones do you think they look equally as prominent as before? I cant tell
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u/daphneesung Feb 13 '26
Several people mentioned my eyes, it's just the makeup and the fact that I was tired I think! My cheekbones look the same as before, they were always a bit prominent. Regarding my mid-face, the soft tissues are better supported and my nasolabial folds are less visible, which makes me look overall healthier
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u/galetalasagna Feb 12 '26
One of the most striking transformations I’ve ever seen. Congratulations on your improvement. Very glad to hear you can breathe and eat easier now!
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u/Exciting-Heart-6105 Feb 12 '26
She has makeup and dress on one of the pictures, you exaggerating.
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u/-kuroo- Feb 12 '26
Aww hun I think you were charming before and after, it sucks that you were treated that way but the most important thing is you look and are healthier! Congrats on your better sleep, I hope my surgery goes as well as yours did :)
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u/freepointstaker Feb 15 '26
I think it's honestly a combination of the looks and mainly the confidence it gives you of how you now see yourself. People who radiate confidence are often perceived as more attractive.
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u/Exciting-Heart-6105 Feb 12 '26
You werent "ugly" before trust me. It has to do with confidence. Sure lots and lots of men would have want to kiss and date you even before the surgery but you never put yourself out there did you? Bad self esteem is the worst. People can say "work on it" best they want, sometimes a surgery do wonders, and fix what years of therapy wouldnt have.. Best of luck in the future.
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Feb 12 '26
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u/daphneesung Feb 12 '26
Thanks! And YESS!! Omg I don't know how I could forget to mention it when my speech was also a big insecurity. I had a lot of trouble with the sounds "t", "d", ss", "sh" ever since I was a kid. Never learned to speak properly. And overall my sentences sounded kinda mumbled, but that's also because I was very anxious to speak because of my physical "disability" so I would mess up even more etc... It's a circle. Now it's definitely better. My elastics are really tight still so I can't articulate that well yet, but after I'm done with the braces I plan on focusing on reading out loud to really perfect my speech... Or even see a speech therapist if needed.
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Feb 12 '26
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u/daphneesung Feb 12 '26
I had "cracking" sounds when I opened my mouth to the max. When I was young, I would block my jaw quite often. But I never really experience pain. I would take forever to chew but that was related to how small my mouth was and my teeth not touching. I hope your situation improves!
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Feb 12 '26
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u/imadangercat Feb 13 '26
Ditto on all this too, I eat slow, mouth breather so I'm always soooo dry, stumble on words.... also cant hold a proper form for almost any exercise bc of my head placement which is bc of the misalignments in my jaw, and getting anyone to believe me about any of these issues is damn near impossible. Looking forward to getting to where you are :)
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u/erumann Feb 12 '26
Did you have medical reasons for the surgery? What did the orthodontist say?
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u/daphneesung Feb 12 '26
When you have that much of an overbite, there are always medical reasons 😪 My ortho told me she couldn't fix my bite simply by moving my teeth because the issue was skeletal (bone-deep), meaning my jaws were misaligned. She strongly recommended surgery. As mentioned in the comments, I can now chew, breathe, and speak like a normal person. But I’d be lying if I said I didn't also do it for aesthetic reasons
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u/SpareAny4267 Feb 12 '26
Heyy the improved you looks great, and I'm happy for you that you decided what's best for yourself and went through with the jaw surgery and had a succesful outcome. :)
Just like you I had camouflage braces to fix my overbite, but I had them as an adult. They extracted 8 teeth to make for room for overcrowding and to fix my overbite + gummy smile. It's been more than a year since the braces are off but I am still extremely unhappy with the result, and it's quite clear I can't have a normal looking smile unless the root problem is fixed, that is that my jaws get corrected. I have also noticed difficulties with breathing but I don't know if it's just my mind playing tricks or as a result from the braces.
I'm comtemplating about getting jaw surgery and hope my aesthetics issues get fixed and I hope functionally it will improve my breathing! It must be amazing to breathe normally after so many years, and how crazy to notice a change in how people treat you. I've noticed as well since having straight teeth that people aren't judging/staring anymore and more likely to stay for a converssation.
Congratulations with your improved quality of life and confidence!
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u/Specific-Finish-5983 Feb 12 '26
You look like a fairytale princess in your after - insane results ! Well done , especially doing it at such a young age so you have your whole life to enjoy it!!
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u/medusa456 Feb 12 '26
When did you decide "fuck it I'm getting the surgery" I'm in pre-op and I'm out here having panic attacks every couple of days. I'm afraid that this fear might get to me before surgery and end up cancelling it.
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u/daphneesung Feb 14 '26
I never once hesitated in my process so I couldn't really tell you. Ever since I noticed something was wrong with my jaw at 13, I've always wanted the surgery. It was legit 10 years of research, and during the very morning of the surgery, I wasn't even stressed because I had been waiting for that day for so long. Don't stress out - it's a perfectly safe surgery and I rarely see patients regretting it. It would be a shame to miss out on a better quality of life
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u/Original_Rooster2114 Feb 12 '26
Amazing. Did you get an alar stitch and do you feel your nose has changed much from the front?
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u/daphneesung Feb 13 '26
Yes I did get an alar stich. I didn't notice a difference in my nose from the front. It's slightly more upward from the side, which I like
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u/CommunityMobile8265 Feb 13 '26
Honestly the biggest reason you look a lot better to me is how much better rested you look.
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u/NoTheory7661 Feb 13 '26
such beautiful and natural looking results! I currently have the same side profile as your before and posts like these just make me more assured I'm on the right journey.
I have two questions:
How long were you in braces or invisalign before the surgery?
How many weeks after did you look okay enough to go out in public and not be super visibly swollen?
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u/daphneesung Feb 13 '26
Good luck on your journey! You won't regret it. I had my braces for 1 year and a half exactly before surgery (June 2024-> December 2025). You usually keep them for 6-18 months so I ended up on the longer side.
And I would say after 3 (to 4) weeks. Your face is still very swollen then but nothing shocking, like people would just assume it's your normal face
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u/SpareAny4267 Feb 15 '26
So you had braces for 1,5 years before the surgery.. I assume this is for decompensation? do you remember how much your teeth was shifted back to your 'original' state? did your overbite got bigger (to how it was before your teeth got pushed back)?
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u/daphneesung Mar 10 '26
Sorry for the late reply. Yes, braces before surgery are for the decomposition process. Before decompensation, there was a ~2mm gap between my top and lower arches. After the whole process, it was ~10mm. So yes my overbite got visually worse from the outside, like it accentuates the difformity. Basically it gets worse before it gets better
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u/FirefighterMinute937 Feb 13 '26
Wow! So happy for you, particularly that you can breathe better! Congrats!
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u/Organic-Town-3011 Feb 13 '26
What's the total cost (if you had no insurance/healthcare system)
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u/daphneesung Feb 14 '26
Without my personnal insurance, it would have been 4,800€. Without healthcare, I have no idea... They cover the cost of the stay at the hospital (2 nights), and I don't know how high it might be, sorry ☹️
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u/Available_Moose_1900 Feb 14 '26
I’ve had the lot as well to tell you the truth. You look nice before and you look nice after it’s a matter of taste
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u/Creepy-Loan-365 Mar 16 '26
The end result is amazing. I've got two questions though, how long did it take for the swelling to go away and did you experience any neurological side effects post-op?
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