Re: NEW MEMBER...hav lots of questions

[Guest guest]

Hi, good that you're here! You need to explore more, gather more

info. Nobody should be pressuring you into having this surgery. It's

your body, it should be your decision.

One of the questions I asked of my ortho and surgeon was " what will

happen down the road if I don't do this? " . I was almost 47 when I had

the surgery, so I had lived with my skeletal dysfunction for my whole

life, really. Apparently the jaw joints were wearing down and it

wasn't going to get any better. I also started to have pain on

opening to eat, and I'd had clicking, popping, occasional locking for

years (although I didn't know that was a problem!).

Tell your parents that you need a bit more time to satisfy yourself

that it's the right decision. It's possible that you could wait until

you are older, although you might be paying for it out of your own

pocket then!

Hope that helps. Try the geocities site for tons of links & FAQs at

http://www.geocities.com/orthognathicinfo/

>

> im currently 15 yrs old and ive had braces for about 3 yrs now...my

> orthodontist wants me to under go lower jaw surgery but im really

> not sure whether i want to do it or not. at first i didnt even

> consider it but my parents want me to do it. im just really scared

> of the risks u could have after u have the surgery and i dont know

> what to do. my orthodontist really wants me to do this and its just

> so much pressure. i dont have any problems eating/breathing or

> anything..pls give me advice on what i should do or your opinion on

> this. please reply back. thankyou

[Guest guest]

thanks alot for the advice and the website...it really helped..ill

try to look more into this and do some research. like i dont want to

regret not doing the surgery when im older but i dont want to regret

doin the surpgery after also. but its a nice feeling of knowing that

other people are goin through this too and that im not the only one.

> >

> > im currently 15 yrs old and ive had braces for about 3 yrs

now...my

> > orthodontist wants me to under go lower jaw surgery but im

really

> > not sure whether i want to do it or not. at first i didnt even

> > consider it but my parents want me to do it. im just really

scared

> > of the risks u could have after u have the surgery and i dont

know

> > what to do. my orthodontist really wants me to do this and its

just

> > so much pressure. i dont have any problems eating/breathing or

> > anything..pls give me advice on what i should do or your opinion

on

> > this. please reply back. thankyou

[Guest guest]

Hi, welcome to the group, I'm new here too. I had braces in high

school for 2 1/2 years. My orthodontist never even told me or my

parents about what was going on with my mouth/bite in regards to my

skeletal structure. I got the first glimpse of everything that first

orthodontist didn't fix or even tell us about the day he removed my

braces and mentioned that, oh yea, my midlines dodn't match

up.... " that would require jaw surgery and having it wired shut, you

don't want that " he told me. I wished I had been informed and given

that opportunity to make that decision for myself!!! I remember in

the moment, being horrified at the idea of the surgery and I really

didn't want it done. But, here I am 8 years later with braces back

on, getting ready for surgery to fix everything once and for all. So

I am glad you are being told more fully what is going on with your

mouth. It is hard to consider the immediate future in contrast to the

long term future. I don't think anyone should be pressuring you! But

definitely learn all that you can before making a final decision-

meet with a surgeon to at least hear and consider what he has to say.

You never know... I would also ask about your age and where you are

with your skeletal growth... sometimes surgeons hold off until

someone younger has finished growing. Best of luck to you! Cheers,

Katja

[Guest guest]

i would get a few more opinions. it's always good to get at least 3

professional opinions...

funnily, when i was 17 my ortho told me that i needed braces and the

surgery ... i waited 18 years before i did it... i'm glad i got the

braces, but i would have been happy WITHOUT the surgery, even though

it still meant i have a 5mm overjet... like you, i had no problems

with breathing or eating

again, i strongly advice you to seek opinions for 3

professionals...make sure you talk to a few ortho surgeons since

they are the true experts....

by the way, younger patients recover much quicker than adults and

have less chance of permanent numbness ...

>

> im currently 15 yrs old and ive had braces for about 3 yrs

now...my

> orthodontist wants me to under go lower jaw surgery but im really

> not sure whether i want to do it or not. at first i didnt even

> consider it but my parents want me to do it. im just really scared

> of the risks u could have after u have the surgery and i dont know

> what to do. my orthodontist really wants me to do this and its

just

> so much pressure. i dont have any problems eating/breathing or

> anything..pls give me advice on what i should do or your opinion

on

> this. please reply back. thankyou

[Guest guest]

I agree with katja... I would be more concerned about doing it before

my face had completely finished growing. It would be terrible to do the

surgery so it looks right on my current face but not on the face I will

have for life.

I am 28 and just had lower jaw surgery. My brother is 16 and needs the

surgery but my parents won't let him have it before college. He is

covered under their insurance till age 23. Of course, I am no surgeon,

it is just my opinion.... there just seems to be something logical

about that. Also, it is your body. While being afraid is normal, that

can be compensated for with education and support. If you are happy

with the way you look and really don't have any unmanageable

problems... you should never feel pressured to alter yourself or put

yourself in danger to make someone else- even your parents- happy.

Also, since it it only lower jaw and you will presumably have straight

teeth when the braces are complete, if you do decide, in the future to

have the surgery, you would likely not have to wear the braces as long

as someone who did not have straight teeth beforehand. Again- I'm no

expert but I know that the two years I spent wearing braces before

surgery were pretty much all about straightening my teeth.

Good Luck!

Tova

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[Guest guest]

>

> im currently 15 yrs old and ive had braces for about 3 yrs

now...my

> orthodontist wants me to under go lower jaw surgery but im really

> not sure whether i want to do it or not. at first i didnt even

> consider it but my parents want me to do it. im just really scared

> of the risks u could have after u have the surgery and i dont know

> what to do. my orthodontist really wants me to do this and its

just

> so much pressure. i dont have any problems eating/breathing or

> anything..pls give me advice on what i should do or your opinion

on

> this. please reply back. thankyou

Hi

I am 20 years old am I am about to have surgery. I had braces on

before and I must have missed the memo my first OD sent to me about

my jaw problems b/c after I had my braces off and my jaw started to

move I was totally dazed and confused. I was about 15 when my braces

came off. I say all of this to point out that b/c you are still in

your early teens you have realy not stopped growing. I couldn't even

consider the surgery until I was 19, the time that most girls

usually stop to grow (This time is later for guys maybe 21-23?). My

docs took x-rays of the bones in my wrist which are similar to the

jaw bones I imagine to see if they had calcium deposits, a sign that

you will not grow anymore. I don't know if your docs mentioned this

to you but you may want to mention it to them for several reasons.

1. You dn't want to fix a jaw that is still growing. If you do it

would probably be a disaster b/c your body will fight what it feels

is not right. Before I got braces the last time my bite was a little

off but after I had the braces, it was like my jaw was really pissed

and it grew to left like overnight. 2. You may also want to wait

until you have stopped growing b/c like you at 15 my jaws really

didn't hurt at all or anything, I could not even really tell that

they were off, but now I can see it and it hurts. The way I felt and

looked at 15 I would not have wanted to have the procedure at all.

Point is I think you have a while before surgery. Unless the doc

says that you will not grow anymore, and if that is the case then I

think you may need to spend some time o this issue.

Joi DiShelle