Guest guest Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 My son had moderate to severe plagiocephaly as well as brachycephaly and started wearing a helmet when he was a little under 4 months old. He's now almost 9 months old. His head shape has improved greatly and he is actually in his 2nd helmet now, but anyways, something that hasn't corrected is his jaw misalignment. His jaw is pretty uneven, and you can easily see it when he smiles and laughs. I'm worried that it's severe enough to make chewing hard for him as well as cause him pain/discomfort, not to mention teasing by his friends for having a " crooked jaw. " I tried looking up information online about jaw misalignment in infants, but couldn't find a lot of info. Are any of you having issues like this with your babies? Does anyone know exactly how it can be treated? I did see stuff about jaw surgery come up, which made me a little nervous. Our clinician at Cranial Tech hasn't given us a lot of info either. She said HER jaw is slightly uneven and she gets headaches from it every now and then but nothing serious. I definitely think my son's jaw is more than " slightly " uneven though. I'll ask our pediatrician about it at his next visit (in a couple weeks) but I was hoping someone could offer some input for the time being. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 I don't know if it is exactly the same thing because my daughter's misalignment was not due to plagio, but we took her to a pedatric dentist (versus the general dentist we were seeing before) and she has several things wrong with her causing the misalignment. Some they said can be corrected with what the dentist called a pre-orthodontic device and I guess it is kind of like a retainer but it helps stretch the jaw into place. Most of the children she sees that have that go on to have braces later, but this helps reset the jaw and enhance the brace experience. Your ped may want a ped dentist to take a look just to see what they say, or it may be too early to tell - how many teeth does he have? From: melissa114@... <melissa114@...>Subject: Jaw MisalignmentPlagiocephaly Date: Monday, August 10, 2009, 1:04 PM My son had moderate to severe plagiocephaly as well as brachycephaly and started wearing a helmet when he was a little under 4 months old. He's now almost 9 months old. His head shape has improved greatly and he is actually in his 2nd helmet now, but anyways, something that hasn't corrected is his jaw misalignment. His jaw is pretty uneven, and you can easily see it when he smiles and laughs. I'm worried that it's severe enough to make chewing hard for him as well as cause him pain/discomfort, not to mention teasing by his friends for having a "crooked jaw." I tried looking up information online about jaw misalignment in infants, but couldn't find a lot of info. Are any of you having issues like this with your babies? Does anyone know exactly how it can be treated? I did see stuff about jaw surgery come up, which made me a little nervous. Our clinician at Cranial Tech hasn't given us a lot of info either. She said HER jaw is slightly uneven and she gets headaches from it every now and then but nothing serious. I definitely think my son's jaw is more than "slightly" uneven though. I'll ask our pediatrician about it at his next visit (in a couple weeks) but I was hoping someone could offer some input for the time being. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 Our son also has a crooked jaw. The lactation consultant was the first one to notice it. She called it a tilted mandible. In my son's case, it was his torticollis that caused it. Even after PT for the torticollis, the jaw tilt is still noticeable (one side comes together before the other). I keep bringing it up every time we go to the doctor. It seems like it won't be taken seriously until he has teeth and it becomes a " bite " issue. We go to the doctor on Friday for our 6th month visit. I'll bring it up AGAIN. Diane > > My son had moderate to severe plagiocephaly as well as brachycephaly and started wearing a helmet when he was a little under 4 months old. He's now almost 9 months old. His head shape has improved greatly and he is actually in his 2nd helmet now, but anyways, something that hasn't corrected is his jaw misalignment. His jaw is pretty uneven, and you can easily see it when he smiles and laughs. I'm worried that it's severe enough to make chewing hard for him as well as cause him pain/discomfort, not to mention teasing by his friends for having a " crooked jaw. " I tried looking up information online about jaw misalignment in infants, but couldn't find a lot of info. Are any of you having issues like this with your babies? Does anyone know exactly how it can be treated? I did see stuff about jaw surgery come up, which made me a little nervous. Our clinician at Cranial Tech hasn't given us a lot of info either. She said HER jaw is slightly uneven and she gets headaches from it every now and then but nothing serious. I definitely think my son's jaw is more than " slightly " uneven though. I'll ask our pediatrician about it at his next visit (in a couple weeks) but I was hoping someone could offer some input for the time being. Thanks in advance! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 11, 2009 Report Share Posted August 11, 2009 I have heard of other kids with jaw misalignment, from parents posting here. Also I think cross bites are associated with palgio. One of the other moderators has a daughter with jaw misalignment (Jen, Luli's mom). I will try to draw her attention to your message, but you might check out Luli's pictures in the photo albums. In her case Luli has a spinal problem that is quite serious and was only diagnosed after the plagio. It is an unusual condition called Syringomyelia, which in her case caused the tort and plagio. However even with just plagio it makes sense to me that it wouldn't necessarily correct just because the plagio improved. The jaw hangs from the skull, so the helmet can help reshape the skull, but can't do anything to shape the jaw. -christine sydney, 3.5 yrs, starband grad > > My son had moderate to severe plagiocephaly as well as brachycephaly and started wearing a helmet when he was a little under 4 months old. He's now almost 9 months old. His head shape has improved greatly and he is actually in his 2nd helmet now, but anyways, something that hasn't corrected is his jaw misalignment. His jaw is pretty uneven, and you can easily see it when he smiles and laughs. I'm worried that it's severe enough to make chewing hard for him as well as cause him pain/discomfort, not to mention teasing by his friends for having a " crooked jaw. " I tried looking up information online about jaw misalignment in infants, but couldn't find a lot of info. Are any of you having issues like this with your babies? Does anyone know exactly how it can be treated? I did see stuff about jaw surgery come up, which made me a little nervous. Our clinician at Cranial Tech hasn't given us a lot of info either. She said HER jaw is slightly uneven and she gets headaches from it every now and then but nothing serious. I definitely think my son's jaw is more than " slightly " uneven though. I'll ask our pediatrician about it at his next visit (in a couple weeks) but I was hoping someone could offer some input for the time being. Thanks in advance! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 11, 2009 Report Share Posted August 11, 2009 My son's jaw only started looking misaligned AFTER he was done with the helmet, which was in April. It's been driving me crazy. The PT we saw a while ago totally blew it off. The pediatrician blew it off. The pediatric dentist said that the actual jaw alignment seemed fine and the asymmetry was just from a bad habit. It's a pretty noticeable and persistent bad habit, though. I have finally made an appointment to go back to the original cranio-facial surgeon who prescribed the helmet. I'll post after that appointment. , 13 months, graduated from Starband in April > > My son had moderate to severe plagiocephaly as well as brachycephaly and started wearing a helmet when he was a little under 4 months old. He's now almost 9 months old. His head shape has improved greatly and he is actually in his 2nd helmet now, but anyways, something that hasn't corrected is his jaw misalignment. His jaw is pretty uneven, and you can easily see it when he smiles and laughs. I'm worried that it's severe enough to make chewing hard for him as well as cause him pain/discomfort, not to mention teasing by his friends for having a " crooked jaw. " I tried looking up information online about jaw misalignment in infants, but couldn't find a lot of info. Are any of you having issues like this with your babies? Does anyone know exactly how it can be treated? I did see stuff about jaw surgery come up, which made me a little nervous. Our clinician at Cranial Tech hasn't given us a lot of info either. She said HER jaw is slightly uneven and she gets headaches from it every now and then but nothing serious. I definitely think my son's jaw is more than " slightly " uneven though. I'll ask our pediatrician about it at his next visit (in a couple weeks) but I was hoping someone could offer some input for the time being. Thanks in advance! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 11, 2009 Report Share Posted August 11, 2009 Plagio can cause a crossbite, and brack can cause an underbite. Jaw problems are one of the things that I did read about early on being associated with untreated plagio, especially with TMJ (clicking of the jaw). As I just posted on another thread, jaw misalignment, just like facial asym in general, can be hard to correct with a helmet, but not impossible. If you get good growth at a young age, I think it can improve. One other thing I was thinking of, if they're willing, maybe you could get an appointment with an orthodontist. I know babies are way too young, but I'd be interested to hear if an orthodontist thinks that jaw misalignment can be fixed down the line with braces and headgear. I had to wear braces for 2.5 years and wore this god-awful headgear that went up over the crown of my head (like Joan Cusack in Sixteen Candles but without the neck brace thing) to help correct my over bite. So I can't see why they couldn't fix an underbite or crossbite in a similar fashion. Obviously, if it can be fixed with a helmet, great, but if not, it would be nice to know there are other options. Let us know if you find out anything more. Jake-2.5 (DOCBand Grad 9/08) Jordan-5.5 > > My son had moderate to severe plagiocephaly as well as brachycephaly and started wearing a helmet when he was a little under 4 months old. He's now almost 9 months old. His head shape has improved greatly and he is actually in his 2nd helmet now, but anyways, something that hasn't corrected is his jaw misalignment. His jaw is pretty uneven, and you can easily see it when he smiles and laughs. I'm worried that it's severe enough to make chewing hard for him as well as cause him pain/discomfort, not to mention teasing by his friends for having a " crooked jaw. " I tried looking up information online about jaw misalignment in infants, but couldn't find a lot of info. Are any of you having issues like this with your babies? Does anyone know exactly how it can be treated? I did see stuff about jaw surgery come up, which made me a little nervous. Our clinician at Cranial Tech hasn't given us a lot of info either. She said HER jaw is slightly uneven and she gets headaches from it every now and then but nothing serious. I definitely think my son's jaw is more than " slightly " uneven though. I'll ask our pediatrician about it at his next visit (in a couple weeks) but I was hoping someone could offer some input for the time being. Thanks in advance! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 12, 2009 Report Share Posted August 12, 2009 My partner had jaw misallignment that was never associated with plagio or tort. She ended up having surgery as an adult to correct it because it was causing TMJ and problems with her teeth. Her parents were really sorry that they hadn't done the surgery as a child. I'm not sure if there are other options for correction other than surgery. Re: Jaw MisalignmentI have heard of other kids with jaw misalignment, from parents posting here. Also I think cross bites are associated with palgio. One of the other moderators has a daughter with jaw misalignment (Jen, Luli's mom). I will try to draw her attention to your message, but you might check out Luli's pictures in the photo albums. In her case Luli has a spinal problem that is quite serious and was only diagnosed after the plagio. It is an unusual condition called Syringomyelia, which in her case caused the tort and plagio. However even with just plagio it makes sense to me that it wouldn't necessarily correct just because the plagio improved. The jaw hangs from the skull, so the helmet can help reshape the skull, but can't do anything to shape the jaw. -christinesydney, 3.5 yrs, starband grad>> My son had moderate to severe plagiocephaly as well as brachycephaly and started wearing a helmet when he was a little under 4 months old. He's now almost 9 months old. His head shape has improved greatly and he is actually in his 2nd helmet now, but anyways, something that hasn't corrected is his jaw misalignment. His jaw is pretty uneven, and you can easily see it when he smiles and laughs. I'm worried that it's severe enough to make chewing hard for him as well as cause him pain/discomfort, not to mention teasing by his friends for having a "crooked jaw." I tried looking up information online about jaw misalignment in infants, but couldn't find a lot of info. Are any of you having issues like this with your babies? Does anyone know exactly how it can be treated? I did see stuff about jaw surgery come up, which made me a little nervous. Our clinician at Cranial Tech hasn't given us a lot of info either. She said HER jaw is slightly uneven and she gets headaches from it every now and then but nothing serious. I definitely think my son's jaw is more than "slightly" uneven though. I'll ask our pediatrician about it at his next visit (in a couple weeks) but I was hoping someone could offer some input for the time being. Thanks in advance!> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 12, 2009 Report Share Posted August 12, 2009 HI! My dd also has jaw asym. He jaw is smaller on the tort side of her head. I noticed it when she was a newborn... and it really concerned me too! I will say that for us the asym is still there but it does not seem to effect her chewing... it is mostly in her smile. Drs tals about distraction surgery IF it didn't correct it's self as she grew... I don't think we will need the surgery. You can see pics of her under "L" for Luli. Jen Mom to Luli - 3 yrs old Torticollis, Plagio, Syringomyelia Jaw Misalignment My son had moderate to severe plagiocephaly as well as brachycephaly and started wearing a helmet when he was a little under 4 months old. He's now almost 9 months old. His head shape has improved greatly and he is actually in his 2nd helmet now, but anyways, something that hasn't corrected is his jaw misalignment. His jaw is pretty uneven, and you can easily see it when he smiles and laughs. I'm worried that it's severe enough to make chewing hard for him as well as cause him pain/discomfort, not to mention teasing by his friends for having a "crooked jaw." I tried looking up information online about jaw misalignment in infants, but couldn't find a lot of info. Are any of you having issues like this with your babies? Does anyone know exactly how it can be treated? I did see stuff about jaw surgery come up, which made me a little nervous. Our clinician at Cranial Tech hasn't given us a lot of info either. She said HER jaw is slightly uneven and she gets headaches from it every now and then but nothing serious. I definitely think my son's jaw is more than "slightly" uneven though. I'll ask our pediatrician about it at his next visit (in a couple weeks) but I was hoping someone could offer some input for the time being. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Thanks everyone for your input! I posted some pictures of my son. His name is and he's on the last page of the " Our Plagio Babies O-P " album. They'll say " (3rd Band) " (yes, he's in his 3rd DOC Band!). There you can see what I'm talking about with his jaw. I noticed that when he " chews " he DOES kind of make his jaw align better than how it looks when he's smiling/laughing. Hopefully he will outgrow this. > > > HI!? My dd also has jaw asym.? He jaw is smaller on the tort side of her head.? I noticed it when she was a newborn... and it really concerned me too! > > I will say that for us the asym is still there but it does not seem to effect her chewing... it is mostly in her smile. > > Drs tals about distraction surgery IF it didn't correct it's self as she grew... I don't think we will need the surgery. > > You can see pics of her under " L " for Luli.? > > > > Jen > Mom to Luli - 3 yrs old > Torticollis, Plagio, Syringomyelia > > > Jaw Misalignment > > > > > > > My son had moderate to severe plagiocephaly as well as brachycephaly and started wearing a helmet when he was a little under 4 months old. He's now almost 9 months old. His head shape has improved greatly and he is actually in his 2nd helmet now, but anyways, something that hasn't corrected is his jaw misalignment. His jaw is pretty uneven, and you can easily see it when he smiles and laughs. I'm worried that it's severe enough to make chewing hard for him as well as cause him pain/discomfort, not to mention teasing by his friends for having a " crooked jaw. " I tried looking up information online about jaw misalignment in infants, but couldn't find a lot of info. Are any of you having issues like this with your babies? Does anyone know exactly how it can be treated? I did see stuff about jaw surgery come up, which made me a little nervous. Our clinician at Cranial Tech hasn't given us a lot of info either. She said HER jaw is slightly uneven and she gets headaches from it every now and then but nothing serious. I definitely think my son's jaw is more than " slightly " uneven though. I'll ask our pediatrician about it at his next visit (in a couple weeks) but I was hoping someone could offer some input for the time being. Thanks in advance! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Wow - I do see what you mean about the jaw. I wonder if all of it is related to head shape. Anyway, it'll be likely that a dentist will want to watch it closely. Jaw Misalignment> > > > > > > My son had moderate to severe plagiocephaly as well as brachycephaly and started wearing a helmet when he was a little under 4 months old. He's now almost 9 months old. His head shape has improved greatly and he is actually in his 2nd helmet now, but anyways, something that hasn't corrected is his jaw misalignment. His jaw is pretty uneven, and you can easily see it when he smiles and laughs. I'm worried that it's severe enough to make chewing hard for him as well as cause him pain/discomfort, not to mention teasing by his friends for having a "crooked jaw." I tried looking up information online about jaw misalignment in infants, but couldn't find a lot of info. Are any of you having issues like this with your babies? Does anyone know exactly how it can be treated? I did see stuff about jaw surgery come up, which made me a little nervous. Our clinician at Cranial Tech hasn't given us a lot of info either. She said HER jaw is slightly uneven and she gets headaches from it every now and then but nothing serious. I definitely think my son's jaw is more than "slightly" uneven though. I'll ask our pediatrician about it at his next visit (in a couple weeks) but I was hoping someone could offer some input for the time being. Thanks in advance!> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 looks just like my dd did. I am attaching pics so that you can see her as she has grown. Hope this helps! Jen Mom to Luli - 3 yrs old Torticollis, Plagio, Syringomyelia Re: Jaw Misalignment Wow - I do see what you mean about the jaw. I wonder if all of it is related to head shape. Anyway, it'll be likely that a dentist will want to watch it closely. Jaw Misalignment > > > > > > > My son had moderate to severe plagiocephaly as well as brachycephaly and started wearing a helmet when he was a little under 4 months old. He's now almost 9 months old. His head shape has improved greatly and he is actually in his 2nd helmet now, but anyways, something that hasn't corrected is his jaw misalignment. His jaw is pretty uneven, and you can easily see it when he smiles and laughs. I'm worried that it's severe enough to make chewing ha rd for him as well as cause him pain/discomfort, not to mention teasing by his friends for having a "crooked jaw." I tried looking up information online about jaw misalignment in infants, but couldn't find a lot of info. Are any of you having issues like this with your babies? Does anyone know exactly how it can be treated? I did see stuff about jaw surgery come up, which made me a little nervous. Our clinician at Cranial Tech hasn't given us a lot of info either. She said HER jaw is slightly uneven and she gets headaches from it every now and then but nothing serious. I definitely think my son's jaw is more than "slightly" uneven though. I'll ask our pediatrician about it at his next visit (in a couple weeks) but I was hoping someone could offer some input for the time being. Thanks in advance! > 4 of 4 Photo(s) LuliFaceEaster07.jpg LuliSept08.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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