question for people that are at least 6 months or more post surgery..I need help

[Guest guest]

As you all know, I had braces put on in March of 03, to prepare for

upper jaw surgery to close an open bite. Surgery was a success and

my ortho treatment has been going well until my May 17 appointment.

At this appointment she did something that has caused my bite to re-

open. I called her and she had me come in yesterday for her to check

things.

Have any of you had/have an ortho that is hard to communicate with?

Her office is always filled, I think they overbook. She & I have

a " chummy " relationship and often discuss things like movies, local

restaurants & other topics. Because we are somewhat friendly, I am

beginning to think we no longer have a professional relationship.

Last night I decided to write her a letter voicing my concerns, which

I faxed to her office today. I am hoping to here from her sometime

today. I hope I did not offend her with my letter but I am obviously

not getting my point across in person or she just is not taking me

seriously. The letter was not at all rude, it just voiced my

concerns.

Yesterday for the 5th time she asked me " which jaw did you have

surgery on again, I cant remember " . To me this is just pathetic &

disturbing. How can she not make sure she knows what exactly was done

to me surgically? I have spent major amounts of time & money

commiting to this treatment (surgery & braces) not to mention both

emotional & physical pain.

Needless to say, whatever she did yesterday has caused my bite to

open even more. I just do not think she is " hearing " me. I am

beyond upset and very worried. Since I am not a typical ortho case (I

am referred to as a surgical case) I believe that my treatment is a

bit different and I should be watched very carefully throughout the

treatment to avoid relapse.

Do any of you have any advice or experience with a situation such as

this?

I also contacted my surgeons office to let them know what is going on.

Thanks!

[Guest guest]

Sounds like you are going about things in the right manner. A letter

to your ortho allows you to state the facts without getting too

emotional. All of us that have been through this surgery know that

the entire process is very emotional. And now being post-op, we all

look everyday at our bite to make sure it is still " OK " . I am sure

that I will for years.

Keep the communication open with your docs and keep us posted.

a

> As you all know, I had braces put on in March of 03, to prepare for

> upper jaw surgery to close an open bite. Surgery was a success and

> my ortho treatment has been going well until my May 17 appointment.

> At this appointment she did something that has caused my bite to re-

> open. I called her and she had me come in yesterday for her to check

> things.

>

> Have any of you had/have an ortho that is hard to communicate with?

> Her office is always filled, I think they overbook. She & I have

> a " chummy " relationship and often discuss things like movies, local

> restaurants & other topics. Because we are somewhat friendly, I am

> beginning to think we no longer have a professional relationship.

> Last night I decided to write her a letter voicing my concerns,

which

> I faxed to her office today. I am hoping to here from her sometime

> today. I hope I did not offend her with my letter but I am obviously

> not getting my point across in person or she just is not taking me

> seriously. The letter was not at all rude, it just voiced my

> concerns.

>

> Yesterday for the 5th time she asked me " which jaw did you have

> surgery on again, I cant remember " . To me this is just pathetic &

> disturbing. How can she not make sure she knows what exactly was

done

> to me surgically? I have spent major amounts of time & money

> commiting to this treatment (surgery & braces) not to mention both

> emotional & physical pain.

>

>

> Needless to say, whatever she did yesterday has caused my bite to

> open even more. I just do not think she is " hearing " me. I am

> beyond upset and very worried. Since I am not a typical ortho case

(I

> am referred to as a surgical case) I believe that my treatment is a

> bit different and I should be watched very carefully throughout the

> treatment to avoid relapse.

>

>

> Do any of you have any advice or experience with a situation such as

> this?

>

> I also contacted my surgeons office to let them know what is going

on.

>

> Thanks!

[Guest guest]

Hi elijahdoll,

I'm sorry to hear about your ortho experience. I don't know that

you'll get much response other than defensive-ness from your ortho,

but I don't know what I would have done in the situation, probably

something similar to get his/her attention. There's usually little

time during visits, I would get maybe one or two questions in, then

that was it.

It's really unbelieveable that your ortho would forget what you'd had

done surgically.

Cammie has often suggested booking a separate appointment to talk.

Maybe it's time for that, for you.

I do have a friend who went through this (we had the same surgeon,

who is really excellent), who had otherwise perfect teeth but an open

bite (she found out she was having problems when her cavity-free

teeth starting cracking and she pursued it). Her bite also started to

open up post-op, and she was also starting to have bad jaw pains on

one side. She felt that her ortho was to blame and also that he was

not communicating with her. The jury is out as to whether or not the

ortho was to blame or the surgeon - open bites are, as far as I've

read online (remember, I'm no expert here) notoriously hard to fix

both orthodontically and orthognathically.

Anyway, long story short, she went to a new ortho and kept the same

surgeon, and had surgery #2. I'm sure you don't want to hear about

the necessity for surgery #2, but it could be a possibility. The

original ortho would blame it on the surgeon, the surgeon would blame

it on the ortho, neither acknowledged her pain post-op surgery #1,

and nobody would really accept responsibility. The surgeon did,

however, waive his office fees for the second surgery (about CAD

$1,200).

The second ortho, professional that he is, just treated her without

blaming anybody. Sometimes sh*t just happens. I think it's better to

take action rather than going nuts over who's to blame, although I do

understand how easy it is to get caught up in the emotion of it.

Please, if your ortho is not communicating with you, talk with your

surgeon. Make an appointment right away to see him/her. Get some

answers. If your ortho is not cooperative, maybe your surgeon can

recommend another ortho. You might even suggest this to your ortho,

although I don't think it's likely to improve your relationship.

Sounds like you have a difficult road ahead of you.

Let us know how you fare.

> As you all know, I had braces put on in March of 03, to prepare for

> upper jaw surgery to close an open bite. Surgery was a success and

> my ortho treatment has been going well until my May 17 appointment.

> At this appointment she did something that has caused my bite to re-

> open. I called her and she had me come in yesterday for her to check

> things.

>

> Have any of you had/have an ortho that is hard to communicate with?

> Her office is always filled, I think they overbook. She & I have

> a " chummy " relationship and often discuss things like movies, local

> restaurants & other topics. Because we are somewhat friendly, I am

> beginning to think we no longer have a professional relationship.

> Last night I decided to write her a letter voicing my concerns,

which

> I faxed to her office today. I am hoping to here from her sometime

> today. I hope I did not offend her with my letter but I am obviously

> not getting my point across in person or she just is not taking me

> seriously. The letter was not at all rude, it just voiced my

> concerns.

>

> Yesterday for the 5th time she asked me " which jaw did you have

> surgery on again, I cant remember " . To me this is just pathetic &

> disturbing. How can she not make sure she knows what exactly was

done

> to me surgically? I have spent major amounts of time & money

> commiting to this treatment (surgery & braces) not to mention both

> emotional & physical pain.

>

>

> Needless to say, whatever she did yesterday has caused my bite to

> open even more. I just do not think she is " hearing " me. I am

> beyond upset and very worried. Since I am not a typical ortho case

(I

> am referred to as a surgical case) I believe that my treatment is a

> bit different and I should be watched very carefully throughout the

> treatment to avoid relapse.

>

>

> Do any of you have any advice or experience with a situation such as

> this?

>

> I also contacted my surgeons office to let them know what is going

on.

>

> Thanks!

[Guest guest]

Hi!~

I am not 6 months post-op, if fact I only recently had my surgery, but I have

had problems with my ortho since. I posted a few days ago under " Going Crazy "

then again under, " My ortho was forcing a relapse. " What I ended up doing is

going to my OS. He took one look at my bite and where it was going and said,

" Take those elastics out and keep them out until I speak to your orthodontist. "

Well, I did, and he did.

I went back to my ortho today and he has re-evaluated my treatment plan and now

has elastics going a different way to not pull my jaw sideways (which is where

it was before surgery). Luckily I have another appt with my OS tomorrow and I

will get him to look at what the ortho did and ask him what he thinks. So far,

I think this will be fine the way he has it now, but I will ask anyway.

I was a bit uncomfortable with the whole situation. I felt like " Mommy " made me

do this (wear elastics) and I went crying to " Daddy " who told me I didn't have

to! Kind of funny when you think about it, but I would rather have a second

opinion and the OS is already paid cause I sure can't afford another

orthodontist!

I hope it all works out for you. I have had an open bite all my life along with

an assymetric lower jaw. My bite still is not perfect, but I hope that in the

end I will be able to bite a sandwich and chew a good hardy steak!!!

Good luck and let us know what happens.

~Cathy

[Guest guest]

Elijahdoll,

I'm not 6 months post op so I don't know if you particularly care

what I have to say, but I do know what it is like to have a

neglagent ortho and I can tell you that I stayed where I was for too

long. You need and deserve an ortho that has earned your good will

and it sounds like you haven't. I switched orthos about a year ago

and I have never regretted it. In fact, being with the new ortho

has made me further realize that my old ortho was horrible! If I

were you, I would not hesitate to look at switching orthodontists.

If you don't, your problems could get worse, and you'd be surprised

how much it would help you emotionally.

-Sarai