Guest guest Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 I am hearing a lot of similar stories on this site. I have a few important questions that nobody is asking: 1. What is the cause of these jaw abnormalities. Many people were not born with a problem jaw. It seemed to develop and continue to get worse. Why did so many of us have braces, only to be told at completion that " you now have a jaw problem " . Did the braces or removal of teeth cause the jaw problem? 2. If the jaw can alter so much without surgery, why can't it be corrected without surgery?. Any thoughts would be appreciated, -- on making a decision 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 I am hearing a lot of similar stories on this site. I have a few important questions that nobody is asking: 1. What is the cause of these jaw abnormalities. Many people were not born with a problem jaw. It seemed to develop and continue to get worse. Why did so many of us have braces, only to be told at completion that " you now have a jaw problem " . Did the braces or removal of teeth cause the jaw problem? 2. If the jaw can alter so much without surgery, why can't it be corrected without surgery?. Any thoughts would be appreciated, -- on making a decision 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 In my case I was told that the orthodontic work I received as an infant (8-10 years) prevented my lower jaw from devoloping properly and so, in effect, I'm having surgery to undo that work albeit 20 years later. My advise is to be very careful with growing children. > I am hearing a lot of similar stories on this site. I have a few important > questions that nobody is asking: > 1. What is the cause of these jaw abnormalities. Many people were not born > with a problem jaw. It seemed to develop and continue to get worse. Why did > so many of us have braces, only to be told at completion that " you now have > a jaw problem " . Did the braces or removal of teeth cause the jaw problem? > 2. If the jaw can alter so much without surgery, why can't it be corrected > without surgery?. > > Any thoughts would be appreciated, > > > > -- on making a decision > > > > 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 > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 , Many of us will not have been born with the jaw abnormality but it will have developed at a very young age. In my case I had what is known as adenotitis face syndrome which stems from my having overgrown adenoids. I had mine removed when I was 7 but the doctors tell me that to really have avoided the problem they should have been removed when I was 3 or 4 because by the time I was 7 my facial skeleton had already taken the long face syndrome path and simply removing the adenoids could not fix the problem. I also sucked my tongue from the minute I was born until I was 7 which is when they put in a tongue gate in my mouth to prevent me from sucking it. While I finally stopped sucking my thumb it is probable that the damage that was carried out from my habit had already taken place. As Constantine said, in some cases, especially for those of us who suffer from Long Face Syndrome, orthodontics if not performed properly can actually worsen the jaw. In my case, 10 years of braces corrected as much as possible. However, braces really target the teeth and not so much the jaw. If you only have a minor jaw abnormality than chances are you won't need surgery however if you have a severe jaw abnormality, which was my case because my lower jaw was grossely underdeveloped, there is only so much braces can do. Orthodontics can't make an underdeveloped jaw grow. At the end of orthodontics your teeth and bite may look perfect but there is no guarantee it will stay that way. The jaw is a very powerful machine and if it decides to move it does. In my case after 10 years of braces my teeth stayed perfectly straight but my jaw moved back into its old position and I got back my open bite, thus the necessity for surgery to rigidly fixate my jaw into the right position and to expand my palet to a more decent width. If you do a couple of google searches on 'long face syndrome' and 'jaw abnormalities developed during youth' you'll find a lot of interesting information. You should also ask your surgeon about this. Mine was very good at explaining to me exactly where my problem was likely to have stemmed from i.e. when I was wee toddler. Hope this helps. Sara > I am hearing a lot of similar stories on this site. I have a few important > questions that nobody is asking: > 1. What is the cause of these jaw abnormalities. Many people were not born > with a problem jaw. It seemed to develop and continue to get worse. Why did > so many of us have braces, only to be told at completion that " you now have > a jaw problem " . Did the braces or removal of teeth cause the jaw problem? > 2. If the jaw can alter so much without surgery, why can't it be corrected > without surgery?. > > Any thoughts would be appreciated, > > > > -- on making a decision > > > > 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 > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 For many of us, the problem is genetic as well. My mother and my older daughter have the same huge overbite that I did. My mother came with me when had her first dental exam at age 3. The dentist looked at my mother and said " You have it and has it " and turning to me said " Who was your surgeon? " In my case, it was definitely genetic. I never had any trauma to my face nor did I ever suck my thumb. My jaw just grew this way. An injury to the jaw at an early age can cause the jaw to not grow properly. Even a minor injury may damage the growth plates. A friend of mine who has had similar problems that I do had it happen to her. She and her family don't even remember her injuring her face but x- rays have shown where the one side of her jaw was damaged and caused it to grow improperly. I don't know if braces can actually impair normal jaw growth. I had braces starting when I was 7 but 30 years ago all they could do with braces was straighten the teeth. My teeth stayed straight but they couldn't do anything about my bite. They also didn't know much about TMJ problems. My jaw locked repeatedly when I was a child but my ortho (who was supposedly one of the best in Manhattan) told me I was faking it. Twenty or thirty years ago, all they could do with braces was straighten teeth. That's why so many of us had braces in childhood and now have to have them again. Nowadays braces are much better. Now there are devices that can be applied to children to help their jaws grow a certain way. will probably get braces when her adult teeth start to come in around age 7. They can encourage her lower jaw to grow more and hopefully she will be able to avoid surgery in the future or at least not have such a severe problem like I did. I hope this helps. Minirascal- > > I am hearing a lot of similar stories on this site. I have a few > important > > questions that nobody is asking: > > 1. What is the cause of these jaw abnormalities. Many people were > not born > > with a problem jaw. It seemed to develop and continue to get worse. > Why did > > so many of us have braces, only to be told at completion that " you > now have > > a jaw problem " . Did the braces or removal of teeth cause the jaw > problem? > > 2. If the jaw can alter so much without surgery, why can't it be > corrected > > without surgery?. > > > > Any thoughts would be appreciated, > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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