on making a decision

[Guest guest]

I understand your concerns completely. I'm 27 now and 12 days post op

but I was 26 when I decided to finally go through with this whole

surgery business. I'd worn braces for a long time when I was younger,

from 7 to 17 years old so most of my teenage years were filled with

pent up angst about always looking like a train track whenever I

smiled. I was ecstatic the day they took the braces off but two weeks

later then told me about the surgery that I would require to ensure

that my jaw truly stayed in the right position. Needless to say I

said NO straightout. At the time the only option for surgery was

being wired for 10 weeks and I was not up for that. So I carried on

with life braceless and quite happily until I was about 21 which is

when my headaches started to kick in. Eating was also getting more

difficult and I realized that I was always chewing stuff only on the

back of my teeth. Biting into sandwhiches was plain impossible

without looking like a dog gnawing at food and I was also grinding my

teeth a lot more in my sleep. When I started grad school the

headaches really got bad. Sometimes they would last a whole day,

sometimes 2 hours, sometimes 20 minutes but they were always

unpredictable and they hurt like hell. No matter what pain reliever I

took the pain never went away. I also realized that my bite was

getting worse by the minute. In the course of 2 years as the

headaches got worse my teeth just seemed to get worse too and I found

that I was developing a gummy smile to my horror and that my chin was

increasingly puckering up in holes everytime I tried to keep my lips

closed. Finally I hauled my butt into an oral surgeon's office for a

consultation (he was the 5th doctor that I saw about my jaw problem)

and he confirmed as had all the other doctors that I had TMJ that

risked becoming very severe and recommended that I do surgery as soon

as possible before my jaw joints were damaged beyond repair.

The thing is for me at this point the surgery was a minor detail

(ironic I know because closer to my surgery date I got quite scared

but it turned out to be far less scary than I had anticipated). If I

could have just done the surgery and gotten it over with and gotten

rid of the headaches I would have done it in a heartbeat but when

they told me I would have to also wear braces AGAIN I freaked. NOT

AGAIN! Like you I couldn't see myself at 26 sporting those darn

brackets again. I felt physically ill at the thought of it. So i

pondered about it for another month and in the mean time wrote all

the pros and cons of going through with the whole process. I thought

about myself at 40 or 50 and asked myself what I would look like by

then if my bite kept on getting worse at the rate it was and how my

lifestyle would be with constant headaches. I thought about what

could be the worst thing that would happen to me with braces and I

realized that the worse thing that could happen to me was a few

blisters from brackets and wires poking into my mouth AND having a

better bite again so I decided to go for it. Something just clicked

inside of me. I decided that I would not let myself be judged by

others just because I had braces. In fact , no one judges you. I

was far more conscious of my braces than any one else was and I was

at grad school where people are supposedly looking at you all the

time. I'm not single but I can tell you that with braces I got hit on

by men a lot more for some reason. Something about the braces

appealed to them. Bizaarre I know. Perhaps it was because I also

became more confident about the fact that I was finally doing

something to sort out my bite and that takes courage and commitment.

Because I was so concerned about getting the braces on my ortho put

ceramic brackets on me so that I wouldn't feel like Miss Metallica

completely. It helped, me at least, and in some photos you can't even

tell I had them on.

Now I am 12 days post-op and while I have had my up and down days I

don't regret doing the surgery one bit. I haven't had any major

headaches and that for me is amazing. I still haven't explored the

food eating adventure because it's still too early for me but it just

pleases me no end to know that once I take braces off this time

around I'm done for life with braces and I am assured of a good

healthy, functional bite for the rest of my life. I also have a

proper chin now and while I am still trying to get accustomed to this

new addition of my face I find that I am getting to like it more

everyday. My boyfriend tells me that I am more beautiful than ever

and that my eyes have lighted even more than before. It may be just

love talking but either way, it feels good to have a more balanced

face.

Sorry for the long email but I hope sharing some of my experience

helps. Good luck in making your decision!

Sara