Treatment for underbite

[Guest guest]

Hello,

I'm 18 years old and am new to this forum as well as the other yahoo

support group. I went to visit my ortho a couple of days ago and he

explained to me that during treatment with braces, my underbite

would get a lot worse before it gets better. I would just like to

know how many of you out there had the surgery for an underbite and

what experiences you've had with the changes in your bite? Also, how

long was your treatment with braces before surgery could be done? My

ortho estimated about 18 months, but 18 months from now would be in

the middle of the school year for me so I would end up having to

wait until the following summer anyway.

Also, I'm considering ceramic braces but I'm not sure how much

longer the treatment would last, and if the cons outweigh the pros.

Thanks,

Mandy

[Guest guest]

hi i am also 18, i just had upper and lower jaw surgery for an

underbite almost two weeks ago, my bite got a lot worse with the

braces, it got so bad that it made my jaw crack and have arthritis-

like pain, it did not effect eating or the outside appearence of my

face, it was really only noticable to me though, i only wore braces

for 9 months because they were damon braces which work really fast

[Guest guest]

Hi Mandy,

I had surgery for an underbite/crossbite June 4 2003. ( I have my

before and after pictures under the Files link). They pushed in my

lower jaw and pulled out my upper.

I got ceramic braces when I was 18 (Nov 2000) because I refused to

have surgery and they were removed Dec 2001. My teeth ended up

straight but my bite was terrible (cross bite and underbite) and

because they had no vertical support they were trying to move back to

their original position. Finally I realized I couldn't avoid the

surgery and Nov 2002 I started getting ready. I had ceramic braces

put on again in January 2003 and wore them during the surgery in June

and after until January 2004. The surgery went perfectly. I had ice

on my face constantly so maybe that's why I never felt pain. I never

took my painkillers. The only problem I had was learning to talk

properly again because my upper lip was short and since my upper jaw

was moved out my upper lip couldn't touch the bottom lip. But with

alot of gum chewing and stretching I was fine by Aug/Sept. I was

numb at first from my eyes down to my chin. I couldn't feel my nose,

lips, cheeks, roof of my mouth and so on. Today I gained back about

99.5%. There is just a tiny portion of my lower right cheek that is

still numb but hardly noticeable.

Ceramic braces should not make your process any longer. They are

just annoying because you cannot drink tea, coffee, have ketchup, etc

because the clear bands around the braces stain easily. (The ceramic

part will not stain.) To avoid that I always asked for white wire

ties instead of clear bands. Most of the time they can do that

unless they have to put on a chain. Your orthodonist is right about

your bite getting worse. But they exaggerate. No one will really

notice and at the end of the entire thing every minute of pain or

annoyance was completely worth it.

> Hello,

> I'm 18 years old and am new to this forum as well as the other

yahoo

> support group. I went to visit my ortho a couple of days ago and he

> explained to me that during treatment with braces, my underbite

> would get a lot worse before it gets better. I would just like to

> know how many of you out there had the surgery for an underbite and

> what experiences you've had with the changes in your bite? Also,

how

> long was your treatment with braces before surgery could be done?

My

> ortho estimated about 18 months, but 18 months from now would be in

> the middle of the school year for me so I would end up having to

> wait until the following summer anyway.

> Also, I'm considering ceramic braces but I'm not sure how much

> longer the treatment would last, and if the cons outweigh the pros.

> Thanks,

> Mandy

[Guest guest]

Just wondering about the lips not meeting: you say you did gum

chewing and stretching and then your lips eventually did meet??

Could you explain this?

I also had lower advancement and although my teeth are far from

straight yet (my front teeth are still sticking out somewhat), I'm a

little concerned with my lips not meeting either (I'm 4 weeks post

op). I must also have a 'short upper lip' I never knew about before

or something? How long did it take for them to meet? Were you ever

told they would probably never meet?

Nathalie

> > Hello,

> > I'm 18 years old and am new to this forum as well as the other

> yahoo

> > support group. I went to visit my ortho a couple of days ago and

he

> > explained to me that during treatment with braces, my underbite

> > would get a lot worse before it gets better. I would just like

to

> > know how many of you out there had the surgery for an underbite

and

> > what experiences you've had with the changes in your bite? Also,

> how

> > long was your treatment with braces before surgery could be

done?

> My

> > ortho estimated about 18 months, but 18 months from now would be

in

> > the middle of the school year for me so I would end up having to

> > wait until the following summer anyway.

> > Also, I'm considering ceramic braces but I'm not sure how much

> > longer the treatment would last, and if the cons outweigh the

pros.

> > Thanks,

> > Mandy

[Guest guest]

Hi Mandy,

I had surgery for an underbite almost 4 weeks ago- they moved my

lower jaw back. I've had braces since October 2002, and I had surgery

June 2004. Your ortho is right- my underbite was more pronounced

after having braces on for a while. No one else could tell, but I

could. Now my top teeth are actually in front of my bottom ones,

which is VERY weird feeling and I think will take a while to get

completely used to. Good luck with everything!

> > > Hello,

> > > I'm 18 years old and am new to this forum as well as the other

> > yahoo

> > > support group. I went to visit my ortho a couple of days ago

and

> he

> > > explained to me that during treatment with braces, my underbite

> > > would get a lot worse before it gets better. I would just like

> to

> > > know how many of you out there had the surgery for an underbite

> and

> > > what experiences you've had with the changes in your bite?

Also,

> > how

> > > long was your treatment with braces before surgery could be

> done?

> > My

> > > ortho estimated about 18 months, but 18 months from now would

be

> in

> > > the middle of the school year for me so I would end up having

to

> > > wait until the following summer anyway.

> > > Also, I'm considering ceramic braces but I'm not sure how much

> > > longer the treatment would last, and if the cons outweigh the

> pros.

> > > Thanks,

> > > Mandy

[Guest guest]

At first I couldn't say any letter of the alphabet that required my

lips to meet. I couldn't even sleep with my mouth closed or chew with

it shut. It was awful and I was never told about it. I told my

surgeon and he just seemed surprised but reassured me after a while I

would be able to. I had the surgery early June and by I'd say mid-

July my speaking was better. By the end of August I could speak

clear again. I think from cutting around my jaws the scar tissue

made my lips tight. After my stiches were removed I would pull on my

upper lip and hold it out. I'd do this alot. I did alot of facial

exercises to loosen up my muscles and would run my tongue around my

jaw to sort of loosen the scar tissue. To answer your question about

lips never meeting after surgery I don't think that it is possible. I

think naturally from speaking and eating the muscles will stretch

over time. It may take longer or shorter depending on the person.

> > > Hello,

> > > I'm 18 years old and am new to this forum as well as the other

> > yahoo

> > > support group. I went to visit my ortho a couple of days ago

and

> he

> > > explained to me that during treatment with braces, my underbite

> > > would get a lot worse before it gets better. I would just like

> to

> > > know how many of you out there had the surgery for an underbite

> and

> > > what experiences you've had with the changes in your bite?

Also,

> > how

> > > long was your treatment with braces before surgery could be

> done?

> > My

> > > ortho estimated about 18 months, but 18 months from now would

be

> in

> > > the middle of the school year for me so I would end up having

to

> > > wait until the following summer anyway.

> > > Also, I'm considering ceramic braces but I'm not sure how much

> > > longer the treatment would last, and if the cons outweigh the

> pros.

> > > Thanks,

> > > Mandy