Dentist wants to break my jaw!.. seriously

Unstable

Yes I know how the topic name sounds, but in a way this is exactly what he wants to do.

I had a brace on for 12 months to correctly line my teeth up (brace came off in April), but now I have an underbite (class 3 jaw), where my lower teeth are just infront of my upper teeth. The only way to sort this problem is to have surgery (orthognathic surgery), where my jaw will be broken and brought back a few millimeters to correct the misalignment.

I'm a bit nervous about this as you can see. I haven’t met anyone that has gone through with this so I don’t know what to expect. If anyone here has got this done or similar surgery plz tell me of your experience. I understand I'll be eating out of a straw for a few weeks if indeed I go ahead with this ...

bugler

Well, I haven't had this done, though I do remember being informed that surgery might be a possibility if my braces didn't do the trick on my slight under bite.

If it's necessary, what can you do? We all have things in life that we go through that aren't particularly pleasant, but we they're for the best and so you just grin and bear it

Bear in mind that you'll be in a far better position than 99% of most other people who have their jaws broken. Ask your orthodontist exactly what the surgery entails, and any questions you have about it. You'll be out (I should imagine) and when you come to things will be over. Better lot than the typical rugby player/boxer/car crash victim who gets his broken and has to deal with it.

logic1

I know a girl had it done. Pretty simple procedure, they brak the jaw and realign it then wire the mouth shut for a few months.

Works great.

.logic.

The Song Thrush

Originally posted by logic1
I know a girl had it done. Pretty simple procedure, they brak the jaw and realign it then wire the mouth shut for a few months.

Works great.

.logic.

A few months??? Even if it works great it's not worth not being able to speak or eat properly for a few months. :dunno:

PrecariousNuts

Take up a hobby like maths, you'll be fine. You don't need to speak and most of it can be done in your head.

logic1

Originally posted by The Song Thrush
A few months??? Even if it works great it's not worth not being able to speak or eat properly for a few months. :dunno:

Unless you're a fatty, then it's two operations for the price of one tbh

.logic.

Unstable

jesus a couple of months. I'm not in school or college, I'm working and face clients every day. I could take a few weeks off work recovering but no way will they let me off a few months

The Song Thrush

Originally posted by Unstable
jesus a couple of months. I'm not in school or college, I'm working and face clients every day. I could take a few weeks off work recovering but no way will they let me off a few months

You could always learn sign language.........

ssh

Well you can sue your employer for unfair dismissal then... :-)

Honestly though, do you think that having it sorted will make you feel more confident and comfortable? Do you feel awkward at present about your jaw?

I think if the employment thing is your biggest concern, genuinely go and have a proper chat with your boss about it.

dudara

Not knowing anything about orthdontics, is such a correction a medical neccessity?, or would you feel better for having it done.

RicardoSmith

A cousin had this done, both for cosmetic reasons and also to improve her speech. While it was painful shes feels it was well worth it. She got over it very fast.

Unstable

To answer some questions, yes my jaw is annoying me. I notice it a lot, I can talk ok if I try to but at the end of the day when I'm tired it’s like talking to a drunk person, also it’s impossible to talk quietly to someone without messing up words, I usually need to have a second go at saying sentences.

Ricardo do you mind me asking how long it took your cousin to recover? also if you know where she had the work done I'd appreciate if you told me. Ta

RicardoSmith

I'll go ask.

DMT

Originally posted by The Song Thrush
A few months??? Even if it works great it's not worth not being able to speak or eat properly for a few months. :dunno:

If it's a class III maloclusion, chances are Unstable can't chew properly anyway. They'd could if it were a pseudo-class III though...

Calibos

Dunno if anyone saw it but on discovery there is a programme called 'Operations'.
One of the operations was for a young girl (15yo)with protruding lower jaw. You see a few people with this jaw. Its a birth defect and is about as common as cleft palate I think. This girl had it pretty bad. They tried orthodontics and braces for years which didn't help. Eventually the girl and her parents decided to go for a more serious proceedure. It involved detaching her upper jaw from her skull and moving it forward a cm and cuttin a cm of lower jaw on either side at the back (just in front of your ear)The bones where re-attached with titatium plates. ie by shortening her lower jaw by 1 cm and moving her upper jaw 1 cm forward they were able to eliminate the 2cm protruding lower jaw. Anyway, it did involve a few months recuperation but the end results were astonishing. She went from being a pretty wierd looking kid (I dont mean to be nasty) to an absolutley gorgeous young lady who now has all her male schoolmates wanting to go out with her.

Now I'm not saying that this is what you have or the proceedure you've been recommended. You probably just have a mild underbite and not the birth defect that this kid had but even though I'm not an expert, I can't imagine what else the dentist could mean when he refers to breaking your jaw. ie they make an incision down where your cheek meets your lower gums on either side. They cut out a few milimetres of bone and rejoin the front to the back lower jaw with titanium plates. Should be alot easier and a quicker recuperation than the young girls. The tricky part with hers was the severity of it and the fact that it also involved the upper jaw.

Good luck with it anyway.

dudara

If it interferes with your everyday life, then you should go ahead and have the surgery. The days of suffering things in silence are long gone.

the best of luck with it.

Third_Echelon

Originally posted by Calibos
Dunno if anyone saw it but on discovery there is a programme called 'Operations'.
One of the operations was for a young girl (15yo)with protruding lower jaw. You see a few people with this jaw. Its a birth defect and is about as common as cleft palate I think. This girl had it pretty bad. They tried orthodontics and braces for years which didn't help. Eventually the girl and her parents decided to go for a more serious proceedure. It involved detaching her upper jaw from her skull and moving it forward a cm and cuttin a cm of lower jaw on either side at the back (just in front of your ear)The bones where re-attached with titatium plates. ie by shortening her lower jaw by 1 cm and moving her upper jaw 1 cm forward they were able to eliminate the 2cm protruding lower jaw. Anyway, it did involve a few months recuperation but the end results were astonishing. She went from being a pretty wierd looking kid (I dont mean to be nasty) to an absolutley gorgeous young lady who now has all her male schoolmates wanting to go out with her.

Now I'm not saying that this is what you have or the proceedure you've been recommended. You probably just have a mild underbite and not the birth defect that this kid had but even though I'm not an expert, I can't imagine what else the dentist could mean when he refers to breaking your jaw. ie they make an incision down where your cheek meets your lower gums on either side. They cut out a few milimetres of bone and rejoin the front to the back lower jaw with titanium plates. Should be alot easier and a quicker recuperation than the young girls. The tricky part with hers was the severity of it and the fact that it also involved the upper jaw.

Good luck with it anyway.

yeah i saw that program one night when I came home from the pub....

I started watching it and I had to watch it to the end... it fairly sobered me up...

Yeah, I have to agree, the girl did look a bit unpleasent before, but after the operation she looked great...

It was really interesting to watch how the actually did the operation... it was genius...

seriously, you should look out for this program on discovery channel... im sure it will be on again sometime soon....

good luck with your choice anyway...

ravenhead

Why wasn't it sorted out while you were wearing your braces?? I had something similiar to yours & it was sorted out while is was wearing my braces - it was done by firstly wearing at outside brace that clips into your back teeth & comes out of your mouth & is clipped around the back for your head. You wear this for 12 hours a day for thr first couple of months - I then had the rubbers in my mouth - you know the ones - it's like having rubberbands going accross your mouth - i had to wear them until I got the braces off & my bit is now perfect!! I'd get a second point on it if I were you... it sounds a bit too invasive for my liking....

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by ravenhead
Why wasn't it sorted out while you were wearing your braces?? I had something similiar to yours & it was sorted out while is was wearing my braces - it was done by firstly wearing at outside brace that clips into your back teeth & comes out of your mouth & is clipped around the back for your head. You wear this for 12 hours a day for thr first couple of months - I then had the rubbers in my mouth - you know the ones - it's like having rubberbands going accross your mouth - i had to wear them until I got the braces off & my bit is now perfect!! I'd get a second point on it if I were you... it sounds a bit too invasive for my liking....

I guess it would depend on the severity of miss misalignment. Braces can only do so much. I have yet to get to talk to my cousin about it. I'll report back when I do.