Guest guest Posted August 9, 2004 Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 Hello everyone, I'm a new member of this group. I'm hoping someone out there can give me some info or advice on this topic. I have an 11 year son who may require this surgery within the next couple years. Right now we're going through the motions of doing the braces and appliances first to see if that will help. I've recently talked to another parent who went through the braces and appliances as we're doing and had it not work. They're now preparing for surgery. This is my dilemma: my son wants the surgery done instead of going through with the braces and appliances. This parent did say that it was the worst year and a half (while he had the braces and appliances in) in his life. He developed a speech problem, stopped eating at school because of the embarassment of having to remove the appliances (it's in 3 pieces I've been told) and loss of self-esteem (being 13 and all). My question is this, should we bother going through with the braces and everything especially if there's a chance it won't work? The time frame involved with the braces and appliances is about 3 years give or take where as he could have the surgery and have everything back to normal within 6 months. Also has anyone out there known anyone who has had a child go through this surgery? I have a pretty good idea what an adult experiences, my husband had the proceedure done almost a year ago and is doing great! Please any info or advice would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 9, 2004 Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 Hello everyone, I'm a new member of this group. I'm hoping someone out there can give me some info or advice on this topic. I have an 11 year son who may require this surgery within the next couple years. Right now we're going through the motions of doing the braces and appliances first to see if that will help. I've recently talked to another parent who went through the braces and appliances as we're doing and had it not work. They're now preparing for surgery. This is my dilemma: my son wants the surgery done instead of going through with the braces and appliances. This parent did say that it was the worst year and a half (while he had the braces and appliances in) in his life. He developed a speech problem, stopped eating at school because of the embarassment of having to remove the appliances (it's in 3 pieces I've been told) and loss of self-esteem (being 13 and all). My question is this, should we bother going through with the braces and everything especially if there's a chance it won't work? The time frame involved with the braces and appliances is about 3 years give or take where as he could have the surgery and have everything back to normal within 6 months. Also has anyone out there known anyone who has had a child go through this surgery? I have a pretty good idea what an adult experiences, my husband had the proceedure done almost a year ago and is doing great! Please any info or advice would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 9, 2004 Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 Hi , I'm pretty sure your son won't be able to have surgery at his young age. The youngest I've heard around here was 14 years, and that was a girl (actually close to her 15th birthday). The docs would have to make sure he had stopped growing, or he'd have to go through it all again. There have even been females here in their early 20s who had to wait until they stopped growing. I would be asking the ortho/surgeon these types of questions in order to decide how to proceed. Also ask about longer-term issues, what will happen if your son waits, what will happen if no ortho treatment, no surgery, etc. Going through braces is inevitable, whether or not your son has the surgery, although usually when surgery is decided on, the treatment in braces & appliances is different - it prepares the teeth for where they will be when the jaws are surgically corrected (in many cases, that means making the bite worse), and then the positioning of the teeth are fine-tuned after the surgery. The whole process can take several years. It may just be better to get another opinion before you change gears. The surgery recovery also involves some potential embarassment (braces, possibly wired or splinted post-op, drooling, numbness, difficulty chewing or talking) which can last weeks or months or, in the case of numbness, years (although it's usually very minor " altered sensation " ). Your son will have to be prepared for that as well. Most of us here are prepared to live with some embarassment as part of the short-term treatment towards long-term functionality. The whole orthognathic process, from consultation to braces-on, to surgery, to recovery and braces-off is an incredible lesson in patience and humility, believe me! I hope that gives you some other things to consider, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 9, 2004 Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 Hi , I'm pretty sure your son won't be able to have surgery at his young age. The youngest I've heard around here was 14 years, and that was a girl (actually close to her 15th birthday). The docs would have to make sure he had stopped growing, or he'd have to go through it all again. There have even been females here in their early 20s who had to wait until they stopped growing. I would be asking the ortho/surgeon these types of questions in order to decide how to proceed. Also ask about longer-term issues, what will happen if your son waits, what will happen if no ortho treatment, no surgery, etc. Going through braces is inevitable, whether or not your son has the surgery, although usually when surgery is decided on, the treatment in braces & appliances is different - it prepares the teeth for where they will be when the jaws are surgically corrected (in many cases, that means making the bite worse), and then the positioning of the teeth are fine-tuned after the surgery. The whole process can take several years. It may just be better to get another opinion before you change gears. The surgery recovery also involves some potential embarassment (braces, possibly wired or splinted post-op, drooling, numbness, difficulty chewing or talking) which can last weeks or months or, in the case of numbness, years (although it's usually very minor " altered sensation " ). Your son will have to be prepared for that as well. Most of us here are prepared to live with some embarassment as part of the short-term treatment towards long-term functionality. The whole orthognathic process, from consultation to braces-on, to surgery, to recovery and braces-off is an incredible lesson in patience and humility, believe me! I hope that gives you some other things to consider, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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