Considering Ortho Surgery

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone,

I apologize first of all if some of you have read this on other

support forums. I'm considering ortho surgery so I'm looking for

as much info and help as possible.

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I'm a 34 year old male living in a suburb of Vancouver, BC with a

moderate underbite and an anterior (front) open bite. I've

obviously lived with this for most of my life as my underbite is an

heredity trait and have been self concious of it as well. I had no

idea I had an open bite until a visit to the dentist about a year

ago. Up until that time, I thought I had a normal bite except for the

underbite. She asked me if I had difficulty eating sandwiches

and pizza at all. I had never really thought about it up until then,

but I have really noticed since then. Plus, she pointed out that my

molars are wearing more than normal due to my back teeth

touching without my front teeth coming together. Nobody had

even pointed this out to me when I was younger as my teeth

came in straight thanks to my big mouth and larger lower jaw. At

the time, she explained that surgery would be the only thing to

correct it. I of course said " No thanks! " and decided to live with it

like I have been for all of my life.

Now that time has passed, I have realized that my jaw, open bite

and under bite cause more problems than I thought. After doing

some research I have found that the jaw joint soreness I get,

head aches that begin at the back of my jaw, difficulty breathing

while sleeping unless my mouth is open, and sleep apnea can

all be contributed to this. Plus, I've never been happy with my

profile, the way my bottom lip comes together with my top lip and

the difficult of keeping my lips closed (no, I don't talk a lot!) and

my tongue in my mouth can be attributed to this as well.

Now, with all of this said, I've made an appointment with my

dentist on Friday, June 24 to see what I can do about it.

Needless to say, I'm very nervous about it all and wondering if

the surgery is worthwhile. In fact, I'm sweating and shaking just

typing this. I'm hoping some of you can help me with some

questions I have before visiting my dentist. I know she will be

able to answer them all, but I'd like to have some of my nerves

calmed. Anyways, here are my questions:

1. I have straight teeth already, but am I going to end up with a

mouth full of braces in for quite some time before and after the

surgery?

2. If I do end up with braces (which I sincerely hope I don't have

to), what is it like to be an adult wearing braces? How do people

view and treat you?

3. Is there a significant difference in the way your mouth and jaw

feel after the surgery? Is it easier to eat, sleep and keep your

mouth closed? (It would be nice to wake up without a pillow full

of drool in the morning. Sorry if I grossed you out.)

4. How painful is the surgery and is the surgery worthwhile?

5. Lastly, is it worth it for a 34 year old to even consider this?

Thanks very much to you all. I hope I can talk with you more as I

consider and possibly progress with this.

Cary