INTRODUCTION
Usually the best—and simplest—way of bringing a smile to your face is by treating the teeth. And in that regard, orthodontics provides a number of options—everything from deterring bad habits such as thumb sucking to realigning teeth using braces.

But for over 10 million Americans who suffer from severe jaw imbalance, that is not enough.

Jaw imbalance occurs when the upper and lower jaws do not fit with each other - one jaw might stick out; another might recede. This could be caused by injury, or birth defect, or simply because the upper and lower jaws grew at different rates.

As a result, you may suffer from a "toothless smile" at one extreme or a "gummy smile" at the other. Jaw imbalance can also cause an "underbite," an "overbite" and even an "open bite (space between upper and lower front or back teeth when the mouth is closed)."

Other problems caused by jaw imbalance include:

• Difficulty chewing or biting food
  
• Difficulty swallowing
  
• Excess wearing of teeth
  
• Inability to make lips meet without effort
  
• Chronic jaw pain
  
• Speech problems
  
• Receding jaw
  
• Protruding chin
  
• Chronic mouth breathing with dry mouth
  
• Sleep apnea (breathing problems while sleeping)