Re: Need advice - lakechic88

August 17, 2004

No matter what you decide, if it's surgery ultimately, then it's

going to require a big chunk of your time and patience. And braces

again. Usually the ortho treatment for someone facing surgery is

different than for simply straightening the teeth, which is likely

all that was done in the past. It's probably no-one's fault that you

need to have more work.

Ask what will happen if you wait, or don't do it at all. Ask about

therapy for that tongue thrust. Ask them to make sure you've stopped

growing. Maybe you can tell from this that I didn't care about the

cosmetic aspect, just function. This is a LOT to go through just for

cosmetic reasons.

I knew I was different since I was a child, but nobody suggested

orthognathic treatment when braces were proposed for me in my early

20s (pulling 4 teeth was also proposed). I finally had my surgery

when I was almost 47, and no teeth were removed in the process! At

that stage, though, I was having pain on opening to eat, and one of

my condyles (the part of the lower jaw that fits into the skull) was

wearing down. I had the classic popping, locking, gravelly sounds,

but I didn't know that this was a problem until I was finally

referred to a TMJ specialist.

Hope that gives you some other considerations.

Good luck with your decision.

> I am 15 and have been told that i should have orthognathic

surgery

> to correct an open bite. I've already been through 2 phases of

> braces, so i'm very upset that i need to go through braces again as

> well as surgery!! I don't have a lot of free time since i have

> school and am involved in sports. I am planning on having surgery

> at the beginning of next summer, which means that i will have to

> miss my summer basketball and volleyball. Also, this is the summer

> after i get my license, and my summer will be wasted recovering

from

> surgery! The orthodontist said that this is my choice; i don't

have

> problems eating or anything. It would be nice for me to have my

> bite corrected, but is it worth surgery? I have a pretty long face

> and they said that the surgery would help my appearance. I know

> that in the long run i will be happy if i have the surgery, but

this

> means sacrificing my summer. Also, If i have the surgery done in

> early june, will i be ready to play volleyball in early august and

> will the swelling be down all the way by late august for when

school

> starts? I just can't decide whether i want to have the surgery or

> not! Advice would be appreciated.

August 17, 2004