Re: contemplating lower jaw surgery/chin advancement

[Guest guest]

Let's put it this way: Whether you are insane or not, I can't tell you.

I can tell you that I had a lower advancement (but did not need the chi

work) in 2002, at almost age 57, and I have been pleased with the

results.

I had a " very destructive bite " that was damaging my teeth badly. My

periodontist believes that the braces and the surgery " saved your

teeth. "

I was also having some signs of TMJ trouble, which improved greatly

after the surgery, although I had no promises on that one. I had no

numbness (which is unusual), little pain -- in short, no real problems

at all.

The main reason I decided to do the surgery was to keep the changes the

ortho had wrought, long-term. I was told that my chance of long-term

retention was much better if the surgeon matched up my opposing jaws.

Best,

Cammie

> Looking forward to hearing from anyone who has been through this kind

> of surgery. I have been in braces for almost a year. I'm at the

> point where my teeth are straight and the braces will come off by the

> end of the year if I do not choose surgery.

>

> To correct a slight overbite (5mm) I can have my lower jaw moved

> forward and can also have my chin advanced to give me a better

> profile.

>

> Am I insane to go through this kind of surgery if I'm not an extreme

> case? I don't really fear the actual surgery but fear that the

> surgery may not go as expected and I'll have to live with pain that I

> didn't have before. I also read about relapse and numbness so they

> are a concern as well.

>

> Any advice and your own personsal experiences would be greatly

> appreciated.

[Guest guest]

This is hard to answer because only your surgeon and orthodontist

can tell you how bad your bite is. Mine was not a severe case

either - compared to some I've seen, however, my bite was off enough

that when I chewed my jaw was moving in all different directions ...

so I ran the risk of having to have the surgery done later in life

(it's already later for me, I'm 41). I was wearing down my back

teeth, and my gums were receding, my joints were popping.

Anyway....if your bite is not that bad, and your not causing too

much joint damage - then don't have the surgery done! It's not an

easy surgery, it's not an easy recovery, there are

complications .... so you just have to weight the risks. My

orthodontist wouldn't even put braces on my teeth without me agreing

to the surgery, so that told me the answer.

You have to weigh the difference of the good things you will get out

of the surgery with the bad things - you could have permanent

numbness in your face - and if it's not permanent it could take a

year to come back. Some people don't have any numbness, but the

surgeon can't tell you which person you will be.

Anyway....good luck with your decision.

Pam

> Looking forward to hearing from anyone who has been through this

kind

> of surgery. I have been in braces for almost a year. I'm at the

> point where my teeth are straight and the braces will come off by

the

> end of the year if I do not choose surgery.

>

> To correct a slight overbite (5mm) I can have my lower jaw moved

> forward and can also have my chin advanced to give me a better

> profile.

>

> Am I insane to go through this kind of surgery if I'm not an

extreme

> case? I don't really fear the actual surgery but fear that the

> surgery may not go as expected and I'll have to live with pain

that I

> didn't have before. I also read about relapse and numbness so

they

> are a concern as well.

>

> Any advice and your own personsal experiences would be greatly

> appreciated.

[Guest guest]

-Thanks for your advice. Tomorrow I am seeing an oral surgeon. In

weighing out the pros and cons, I know there are risks and that is

quite scary but then I think how I'm always thrusting my lower jaw

forward while talking or to smile--it's just a habit that I do to

accomodate my overbite. I plan to get at least 2 opinions from oral

surgeons so hopefully that will help me decide. It's not a decision

I'm taking likely, but at 43 years old I've always wanted to have a

beautiful smile and a more prominent profile. Thanks again.

-- In orthognathicsurgerysupport , " v123violet "

<v123violet@y...> wrote:

> This is hard to answer because only your surgeon and orthodontist

> can tell you how bad your bite is. Mine was not a severe case

> either - compared to some I've seen, however, my bite was off

enough

> that when I chewed my jaw was moving in all different

directions ...

> so I ran the risk of having to have the surgery done later in life

> (it's already later for me, I'm 41). I was wearing down my back

> teeth, and my gums were receding, my joints were popping.

>

> Anyway....if your bite is not that bad, and your not causing too

> much joint damage - then don't have the surgery done! It's not an

> easy surgery, it's not an easy recovery, there are

> complications .... so you just have to weight the risks. My

> orthodontist wouldn't even put braces on my teeth without me

agreing

> to the surgery, so that told me the answer.

>

> You have to weigh the difference of the good things you will get

out

> of the surgery with the bad things - you could have permanent

> numbness in your face - and if it's not permanent it could take a

> year to come back. Some people don't have any numbness, but the

> surgeon can't tell you which person you will be.

>

> Anyway....good luck with your decision.

>

> Pam

>

>

>

>

>

> > Looking forward to hearing from anyone who has been through this

> kind

> > of surgery. I have been in braces for almost a year. I'm at

the

> > point where my teeth are straight and the braces will come off

by

> the

> > end of the year if I do not choose surgery.

> >

> > To correct a slight overbite (5mm) I can have my lower jaw moved

> > forward and can also have my chin advanced to give me a better

> > profile.

> >

> > Am I insane to go through this kind of surgery if I'm not an

> extreme

> > case? I don't really fear the actual surgery but fear that the

> > surgery may not go as expected and I'll have to live with pain

> that I

> > didn't have before. I also read about relapse and numbness so

> they

> > are a concern as well.

> >

> > Any advice and your own personsal experiences would be greatly

> > appreciated.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for your advice. I'm also an " older " patient--43 yrs. old.

I see an oral surgeon tomorrow and plan to see another one soon to

get a 2nd opinion. I guess there are never any guarantees but it

sounds like you were fortunate to have no numbness or little

problems. I can only hope & pray that I'll have excellent results

too. I don't take this decision lightly and I want to be well

informed. Thanks again for your help.

> > Looking forward to hearing from anyone who has been through this

kind

> > of surgery. I have been in braces for almost a year. I'm at

the

> > point where my teeth are straight and the braces will come off

by the

> > end of the year if I do not choose surgery.

> >

> > To correct a slight overbite (5mm) I can have my lower jaw moved

> > forward and can also have my chin advanced to give me a better

> > profile.

> >

> > Am I insane to go through this kind of surgery if I'm not an

extreme

> > case? I don't really fear the actual surgery but fear that the

> > surgery may not go as expected and I'll have to live with pain

that I

> > didn't have before. I also read about relapse and numbness so

they

> > are a concern as well.

> >

> > Any advice and your own personsal experiences would be greatly

> > appreciated.

[Guest guest]

Hello there and welcome to this group! And, no, I don't think you are

insane at all. I'm a 47 year-old with an underbite, and I've been in

braces for 7 weeks now. I will be in braces up to ten months before my

surgery and up to six months afterward. This is the third time in the

last twenty-five years that I have considered going thru this (I wasn't

ready the first two times), but doing this now seems right to me. Also,

I've been having problems with mastication and speech. I will be having

a BSSO for mandibular set-back and a probable LeFort to advance my

maxilla and drop it down in front. I have the best Surgeon I could ever

have hoped to find, and feel truly blessed to have found him. My OD is

awesome; I was referred to him by my OMS. The only real problem I have

is that my insurance won't be paying for this, as it's an excluded

benefit. My Surgeon has privileges at a small short-term hospital that

charges a third to a fourth of what the larger hospitals charge (one of

whom is my employer), so I will be having the surgery there. You are

right: this is a huge decision to make and only YOU can make it. I'm

doing this for ME, and this is not cosmetic surgery although a few of

my friends are convinced that is why I'm doing this. I will receive

some aesthetic improvement from all this, but it's not my primary

reason for undergoing such radical surgery. I'm anxious to get this

done, but I'm also a little bit scared as well, which is to be

expected. But, I'm in good hands and my OMS will be taking very good

care of me - I trust him completely.// Well, I hope my story has helped

you. Take care and let us know what you decide. You are not alone and

won't be going thru this alone - we are here to lend support.~~~ Diane

(Idaho) :-)#)

> Looking forward to hearing from anyone who has been through this kind

> of surgery. I have been in braces for almost a year. I'm at the

> point where my teeth are straight and the braces will come off by the

> end of the year if I do not choose surgery.

>

> To correct a slight overbite (5mm) I can have my lower jaw moved

> forward and can also have my chin advanced to give me a better

> profile.

>

> Am I insane to go through this kind of surgery if I'm not an extreme

> case? I don't really fear the actual surgery but fear that the

> surgery may not go as expected and I'll have to live with pain that I

> didn't have before. I also read about relapse and numbness so they

> are a concern as well.

>

> Any advice and your own personsal experiences would be greatly

> appreciated.

[Guest guest]

to: dmd13cyto

thank you for your words of encouragement. Four years ago I was at

the point where I wanted braces (had consult with orthodontist &

oral surgeon) but got scared away with the thought of having my jaw

broken. So I waited until my last child was finished with his

braces and decided it was now or never for me--at age 43. I'm glad I

finally took the step of getting braces and now have to decide if

that is enough or go the whole way. I'm friends with a highly

regarded plastic surgeon in my area and today I'm seeing a oral

surgeon that he recommended I see, so it helps to know this OS comes

highly recommended.

I already know that insurance will not cover my expenses but I hope

the OS will work with me and allow me to pay it off over several

years. I, too, heard that some OS will perform surgeries in their

own facility to save costs.

Couple of questions:

1. what is mastication?

2. what does BSSO & OMS stand for?

3. what is LaFort?

3. are you having your lower jaw moved back, your top jaw advanced

and lowered (do you have a gummy smile)?

An oral surgeon that I saw earlier said these are my options:

1. advance lower jaw

2. advance chin to better my profile

3. lower top jaw because of gummy smile

I'm not bothered by my gummy smile as much as the other problems so

I don't think I'll go that route of breaking top jaw.

Thanks again and I'll let you know how things went at OS today.

danajoy24

..

> > Looking forward to hearing from anyone who has been through this

kind

> > of surgery. I have been in braces for almost a year. I'm at

the

> > point where my teeth are straight and the braces will come off

by the

> > end of the year if I do not choose surgery.

> >

> > To correct a slight overbite (5mm) I can have my lower jaw moved

> > forward and can also have my chin advanced to give me a better

> > profile.

> >

> > Am I insane to go through this kind of surgery if I'm not an

extreme

> > case? I don't really fear the actual surgery but fear that the

> > surgery may not go as expected and I'll have to live with pain

that I

> > didn't have before. I also read about relapse and numbness so

they

> > are a concern as well.

> >

> > Any advice and your own personsal experiences would be greatly

> > appreciated.

[Guest guest]

Hello danajoy24 - I know what it feels like to take such a big step

and put your trust in the hands of someone to fix a problem you've

had for a while. Here's the answers to your questions: mastication is

the medical term for chewing; BSSO stands for Bilateral Sagittal Split

(Ramus)Osteotomy which is the most common procedure to either set

back or advance the mandible (lower jaw); OMS stands for Oral &

Maxillofacial Surgeon. LeFort is the name of the Maxillary Osteotomy

procedure and it involves surgically separating the maxilla (upper

jaw) from the skull; segments can be made if the palate needs to be

widened, and pieces of the bone removed or added to fix certain

problems. You mentioned you have a gummy smile, and this procedure

would involve removing excess bone from the front part of the maxilla

to move your upper jaw upwards. And you've stated that you have an

overbite, and would be having your lower jaw advanced - that's a

BSSO. The procedure to advance your chin is called a Genioplasty.//

In my case, I have an underbite or, technically speaking, Mandibular

Hyperplasia, so I will be having my lower jaw shortened (remove

excess bone) and moved back. And I also have an underdeveloped upper

jaw or Maxillary Hypoplasia, so I will be having my maxilla brought

forward. And, my resting smile (when the mouth is slightly open and

lips apart) shows only my lower teeth instead of my upper teeth, so

that's where the " drop my maxilla down in front " part comes in. Most

of the problems with numbness usually involve the lower jaw; swelling

and congestion are associated with the upper procedure. For info on

all three procedures, just do a web search; type in " LeFort Maxillary

Osteotomy " , " Bilateral Sagittal Split Osteotomy " , and " Genioplasty "

and see all the material pop up. Hope I have helped you; if you have

any more questions, do not hesitate to ask. My email address is:

dmd13cyto@... and my name is Diane, and I live in Idaho.~~~~

Diane :-)#) ----- BSSO + LeFort in June 2006 ---

> > > Looking forward to hearing from anyone who has been through

this

> kind

> > > of surgery. I have been in braces for almost a year. I'm at

> the

> > > point where my teeth are straight and the braces will come off

> by the

> > > end of the year if I do not choose surgery.

> > >

> > > To correct a slight overbite (5mm) I can have my lower jaw

moved

> > > forward and can also have my chin advanced to give me a better

> > > profile.

> > >

> > > Am I insane to go through this kind of surgery if I'm not an

> extreme

> > > case? I don't really fear the actual surgery but fear that the

> > > surgery may not go as expected and I'll have to live with pain

> that I

> > > didn't have before. I also read about relapse and numbness so

> they

> > > are a concern as well.

> > >

> > > Any advice and your own personsal experiences would be greatly

> > > appreciated.