Re: New to group, intro and a few questions...crossbite...nose...mouth breathers

[Guest guest]

I just had an upper/lower with a hip graft three weeks ago. My nose

is just slightly off to the left (it's still slightly off to the

left, which played hell with my surgeons trying to find my midline to

line up my front teeth during surgery, since they draw an imaginary

line down the middle of your nose. They ended up putting a pin right

in between my eyebrows to line everything up, no it didn't hurt and

you can't even tell now). I had an 11 mm (so nice to say had instead

of have!) overbite/overjet, severely gummy smile, no chin, and

everything was moving south slowly. My nose looks about the same,

maybe a little shorter, but my whole face is shorter. The swelling is

almost gone in my nose. Unfortunately I can't help you with the

crossbite, since I was almost perfectly straight midline (at least

one thing was right with my mouth!). I had severe crowding, had 9

teeth taken out (5 wizzies and 4 regular) and I've been in braces

almost 2 years now.

It's very interesting what you say about mouth breathing. I was also

a mouth breather, I don't know if I am anymore since I'm wired shut,

nothing really hangs open anywhere. I had periodontal problems

because of my mouth breathing. Mine wasn't due to my nose though, I

just couldn't close my mouth over my teeth. I don't have any problems

with a deviated septum, but my turbinates were about 3 times the

normal size, which contributed to my upper jaw being so far down.

There are quite a few people on here though who have had an ENT

specialist perform surgery at the same time they had their jaws done

who fixed their septums. I mean, you've got the upper jaw just

hanging off there anyway, so why not fix the insides?

I can honestly say that I am glad I had the surgery done and I'm not

even totally sure of the results yet. I need to post some pics but I

keep forgetting to. I never really had a problem breathing through my

nose that I noticed, and I'm breathing better than I ever have when

I'm not congested. Actually, when I had my lower jaw moved forward it

increased my windpipe about 2 fold, so that's probably what's making

the difference. The difference in my appearance? Before with a

relaxed face, you could see all my top teeth and some gum, with a

smile you could see all my teeth and more upper gum than teeth. My

smiles look weird now because I'm still numb, but relaxed I show

maybe a 1/4 inch of top teeth. When I can smile, there's no gums,

just teeth, it's fabulous. I have a chin sort of (swelling still very

much in effect around the chin and cheeks) and a profile.

Since it sound like you have the same problems as I did (minus the

nose thing, cross bite and deviated septum, feel free to ask any

questions or email me at flafrog912 at hotmail dot com. Here's to

overbites and getting them fixed!

J.

> Hi, everyone.

>

> I've been lurking for a bit and thought maybe I should post

something

> for a change since this seems to be a nice, supportive, tight knit

> forum...

>

> I have not yet had orthognathic surgery but am

> currently undergoing orthodontics for a dentoalveolar

> malocclusion with moderate protrusion, deep overbite,

> severe upper and lower crowding, midline assymetry

> with chin deviated to right and a crossbite of 2/2, -/3. Oh, and I

> have a very long nose which is deviated to the left. (Yeah, the

> left/right deviation combo is quite the circus!) ;-)

>

> I have had full braces for about eight months now (after

> having 4 permanent teeth plus my 4 wisdom teeth all

> extracted at the same time...not as bad as it sounds, actually) and

> will most likely undergo orthognathic surgery to deal with the chin,

> maxillary excess and narrow jaw, as well as my gummy smile.

Needless

> to say, I'm a little apprehensive...but from what I've read here so

> far, there seem to be few regrets regarding the surgery long term,

so

> I guess in situations like this we have to stay focused on the end

> goal rather than on the temporary discomfort, right?

>

> I don't know whether this is the right forum, but I'm

> also interested in chatting with other mouth breathers

> (the root of this whole problem for me -- I was born

> with a deviated septum, have never been able to

> breathe through my nose properly, spent my childhood

> with my mouth hanging open, which of course led to the

> funny vertical growth, dragging my nose with it! and

> still sleep with my mouth wide open.)...I am concerned

> of the relapse effects this continued mouth breathing

> problem/habit may have on my orthodontic treatment/the

> end result. There's actually some really interesting information

out

> there regarding the effects of mouth breathing on jaw development

(I

> can post some links if anyone else is interested or has children

who

> are mouth breathers...I was talking with friend recently and

> mentioned the point...she said it sent huge bells off in her mind,

> since her husband was a mouth breather and ended up needing major

> orthodontics and jaw surgery, while his sister (who had essentially

> the same facial structure as a child but was able to breathe

through

> her nose) had almost perfect teeth and normal jaw development.

> Admittedly, the source of problems doesn't much matter when we

> finally get to the point where we need surgery, but I can't help

but

> want to go up to parents now when I notice that their kids are

mouth

> breathers and point at my messed up jaw as an indication that

perhaps

> early intervention (or measures to correct the breathing problem)

are

> necessary. I know that my parents figured it was no big deal

(note:

> my sister was also not a nose breather and had almost perfect

teeth,

> and my family history is good, so I'm just the family freak) ;-).

> Source discussion might seem out of place here, but as many of us

may

> have kids, who may have inherited some of our habits, I figure it

> can't hurt to mention it. Who knows -- maybe it will save some

poor

> son or daughter from having to go through the same kind of surgery

as

> an adult if he/she can deal with the mouth breathing or abnormal

jaw

> growth using growth guidance... an ounce of prevention is worth a

> pound of cure, or however that saying goes. Anyway, I would be

> curious to canvass whether anyone else has had this problem and has

> noticed that orthognathic surgery has had any kind of positive

effect

> on respiration, as well.

>

> I would also be really curious to know whether anyone who has

> undergone the surgery has noticed that the profile of their nose

has

> changed at all (ie. appeared smaller, less protrusive, less long) --

> that seems to be the case with some of the posted photos in which

> there does not appear to have been any surgery done on the nose,

but

> I am aware that sometimes jaw surgery is accompanied by

rhinoplasty,

> so perhaps this is what I'm seeing? So, if anyone has any comments

> on that one, I'd be really curious to know.

>

> This is probably too much, all at once, but I'm really keen to

> discuss with you! Feel free to e-mail me at candace_brooks@y...

> if you'd like to discuss further!

>

> Candace

[Guest guest]

Hi there,

I just wanted to say I'm a heavy mouth breather as well. I've got

severe lower crowding as well, midline assymetry and my nose is

deviated to the hmmm left I believe. I also have narrow jaws and a

gummy smile.

I'm really interested in finding out more about mouth breating. My

orthodontist even said that mouth breathing could cause root

resorption... I just find it so annoying, walking around with my

mouth hanging open, I always have dry lips. At night I wake up

several times because my mouth is so dry. When you say " relapse " , do

you mean orthodontics or surgery ? I've had braces before (twice) and

my teeth keep on relapsing. I guess I'll be stuck with night

retainers for the rest of my life.

I also get the occasional comment about my nose being so long and

narrow. But I actually think it only " looks " long because of my long,

narrow face. Perhaps that after surgery my so called long nose-issue

will be solved as well. I do believe that as far as the shape of the

nose is concerned, upper jaw surgery makes the nose a bit wider.

,

> Hi, everyone.

>

> I've been lurking for a bit and thought maybe I should post

something

> for a change since this seems to be a nice, supportive, tight knit

> forum...

>

> I have not yet had orthognathic surgery but am

> currently undergoing orthodontics for a dentoalveolar

> malocclusion with moderate protrusion, deep overbite,

> severe upper and lower crowding, midline assymetry

> with chin deviated to right and a crossbite of 2/2, -/3. Oh, and I

> have a very long nose which is deviated to the left. (Yeah, the

> left/right deviation combo is quite the circus!) ;-)

>

> I have had full braces for about eight months now (after

> having 4 permanent teeth plus my 4 wisdom teeth all

> extracted at the same time...not as bad as it sounds, actually) and

> will most likely undergo orthognathic surgery to deal with the chin,

> maxillary excess and narrow jaw, as well as my gummy smile.

Needless

> to say, I'm a little apprehensive...but from what I've read here so

> far, there seem to be few regrets regarding the surgery long term,

so

> I guess in situations like this we have to stay focused on the end

> goal rather than on the temporary discomfort, right?

>

> I don't know whether this is the right forum, but I'm

> also interested in chatting with other mouth breathers

> (the root of this whole problem for me -- I was born

> with a deviated septum, have never been able to

> breathe through my nose properly, spent my childhood

> with my mouth hanging open, which of course led to the

> funny vertical growth, dragging my nose with it! and

> still sleep with my mouth wide open.)...I am concerned

> of the relapse effects this continued mouth breathing

> problem/habit may have on my orthodontic treatment/the

> end result. There's actually some really interesting information

out

> there regarding the effects of mouth breathing on jaw development

(I

> can post some links if anyone else is interested or has children

who

> are mouth breathers...I was talking with friend recently and

> mentioned the point...she said it sent huge bells off in her mind,

> since her husband was a mouth breather and ended up needing major

> orthodontics and jaw surgery, while his sister (who had essentially

> the same facial structure as a child but was able to breathe

through

> her nose) had almost perfect teeth and normal jaw development.

> Admittedly, the source of problems doesn't much matter when we

> finally get to the point where we need surgery, but I can't help

but

> want to go up to parents now when I notice that their kids are

mouth

> breathers and point at my messed up jaw as an indication that

perhaps

> early intervention (or measures to correct the breathing problem)

are

> necessary. I know that my parents figured it was no big deal

(note:

> my sister was also not a nose breather and had almost perfect

teeth,

> and my family history is good, so I'm just the family freak) ;-).

> Source discussion might seem out of place here, but as many of us

may

> have kids, who may have inherited some of our habits, I figure it

> can't hurt to mention it. Who knows -- maybe it will save some

poor

> son or daughter from having to go through the same kind of surgery

as

> an adult if he/she can deal with the mouth breathing or abnormal

jaw

> growth using growth guidance... an ounce of prevention is worth a

> pound of cure, or however that saying goes. Anyway, I would be

> curious to canvass whether anyone else has had this problem and has

> noticed that orthognathic surgery has had any kind of positive

effect

> on respiration, as well.

>

> I would also be really curious to know whether anyone who has

> undergone the surgery has noticed that the profile of their nose

has

> changed at all (ie. appeared smaller, less protrusive, less long) --

> that seems to be the case with some of the posted photos in which

> there does not appear to have been any surgery done on the nose,

but

> I am aware that sometimes jaw surgery is accompanied by

rhinoplasty,

> so perhaps this is what I'm seeing? So, if anyone has any comments

> on that one, I'd be really curious to know.

>

> This is probably too much, all at once, but I'm really keen to

> discuss with you! Feel free to e-mail me at candace_brooks@y...

> if you'd like to discuss further!

>

> Candace

[Guest guest]

Candace,

Interesting post. I was a mouth breather all of my life, pre

surgery. I now breathe comfortably through my nose. I didn't have

any surgery on my nose at all, just my upper jaw.

My nose has changed since the surgery. I'm hoping it goes back to

the way it was. It seems to be pointed up more, and the nostrils are

wider. I did have the alar base cinching, which is supposed to keep

the nose from really changing.

By the way, both my kids are nose breathers. *Sigh*

Cheryl

[Guest guest]

Hi Candace,

I was always a mouth breather... But, now I am reformed! Nose

breather! Yeah! But, I noticed that with my allergies being

atrocious right now that I get panicky (think I'm being oxygen

deprived) and have a tendancy to revert back to mouth breathing.

I have difficulty breathing through my left nostril and suspect a

possible deviated septum...

Hmm..

> Candace,

>

> Interesting post. I was a mouth breather all of my life, pre

> surgery. I now breathe comfortably through my nose. I didn't have

> any surgery on my nose at all, just my upper jaw.

>

> My nose has changed since the surgery. I'm hoping it goes back to

> the way it was. It seems to be pointed up more, and the nostrils

are

> wider. I did have the alar base cinching, which is supposed to

keep

> the nose from really changing.

>

> By the way, both my kids are nose breathers. *Sigh*

>

> Cheryl