Re: A Word of advice please!

June 15, 2005

Hi Trevor,

Your post is a bit of a coincidence, since we had another new member

from Ireland this week, Dave, also with an underbite, I think.

Braces are usually required, in order to move the teeth to where

they'll be post-op.

The surgery is not normally painful, you usually go quite numb,

although this wears off in time. It takes about 6-8 weeks for the

bone to properly heal, and during some of that time you will have a

restricted (in terms of chewing) diet.

Recovery from residual numbness (after the major numbness wears off)

can take up to a year or more (my surgeon said 5-7 years, which is

the longest I've heard).

Surgery is expensive, but depending on your insurer or government,

it may be fully covered. Braces usually aren't, though.

Speech may be difficult initially post-op (I mumbled, apparently),

and also depends on whether you'll be wired or fixed with rubber

bands.

As for having it done this year, well, the process usually takes

longer. You'll have to consult with a surgeon and ortho first, then

start treatment in braces, then wait (and wait and wait) until your

teeth are moved into the correct position for surgery (which may

screw them up in the meantime), and then be scheduled for surgery.

Best not to try to plan on having surgery at any particular point in

time, it's difficult to predict how fast teeth move, or a surgeon's

schedule.

You'll find photos on this site and also on the second ortho surgery

site at

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/orthognathicsurgerysite2

(you'll have to join to see photos)

Also lots of info on the geocities site at

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

Hope that helps,

(upper/lower/genio Aug 2002)

> Hi there and greetings from Ireland!

>

> I have just stumbled across your forum and I'm hoping someone can

> offer some words of wisdom! I am 33 year old male who has a

> protruding lower jaw which I am particularly conscious about. I

have

> a girlfriend for years who has no issue with it but it bugs me

> continually! My top teeth do not meet with my lower set but the

gap

> is very small perhaps as small as three or four millmetres.

Basically

> what I'm trying to find out is how to correct this problem. My

> questions are as follows (I would greatly appreciate if you could

> answer the q.s if you have had this problem corrected)

>

> Are braces required? (At 33 I'm a bit to old!)

> Is it a serious operation?

> How long is the recuperation period?

> Is it expensive?

> Does it affect your speech post op?

> Any other information you deem relevant?

> Is it worth it?

> Is there any sites where there are " before " and " after " pictures

> posted?

>

> I would really appreciate any guidance that anyone can offer. I'm

> determined that this year is the year I'm going to have it

corrected!

> Thanks in advance for any help provided. Trevor

June 15, 2005

Trevor -

How neat to e-mail you in Ireland from a mere Kansas City,

Missouri! Ha! Ireland sounds so much better!

Anyway - I am a little over 4 weeks post-op. I think it'll be

easier to just answer your questions in their order, so here it goes:

Are braces required? I beleive they are, but there are poeople on

this forum that don't have braces and still had the surgery done.

I say, if you're going to do it, do it right. 33 is for sure not

too old to get braces. You have your entire life to enjoy your

smile.

Is it a serious operation? I don't beleive the operation(s) is life

threatening or anything, but it is certainly a serious one. It is a

real committment. Ask anyone going through the aftermath. You

really need to want this surgery and really need to know how hard it

will be and how many ups and downs you will have.

How long is the recuperation period? It varies, but I would say

total, a few months. I don't get the wires from my upper and lower

jaw bones removed (they hold bands) until September! As far as how

long you'd be off work, etc. maybe 2 weeks.

Is it expensive? Very expensive if your insurance doesn't pay.

Mine luckily is paying everything, but my total running tab is over

$100,000.00 for everything. I had some pretty extensive procedures

and it will vary for everyone.

Does it affect your speech post op? That would also depend I

suppose on what you have done. My speech is for sure changed so

far. I had a major under bite and had a slur and now it's

normal.

Any other information you deem relevant? Tons of information I

would consider to be very important to know if you really do this.

This site is the best for that.

Is it worth it? 3 weeks ago, I would have said " NO WAY " , but now

more and more I would say " definitely " .

There are before and after pics in this site if you are a " member " .

A surgeon would have good ones too.

It is important that you have a good girlfriend who will support

you. A solid support system is vital with this surgery.

I hope this helps. Cheers to Ireland!!! I'm jealous.

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