Re: Re: How soon after diagnostics can I get my braces on?

[Guest guest]

Hi -

Thanks so much for your message. Its crazy how much we have in common, even

right down to our birth year!! Yes, you are correct, after doing a TON of

research I realized that getting the plastic surgery was just a really bad idea

and I went ahead and cancelled the appt. This group has been great and very

supportive and ultimately helped me make the decision to go ahead with the

orthognathic surgery. So far, things are going really well. I've found both an

orthodontist and an oral surgeon (he even promised me that the surgery would be

100% covered!! although I am going to have a vertical genioplasty on my chin and

that will be out of pocket) so now I'm ready to get the show on the road and get

these braces on!

I am going to send you some photos of myself. And if you could send me the

links for the photos of people with our similar problem, that would be great!

Thanks again!

sam

memphis_tiff wrote:

Hi Sam,

First let me say that I was just reading back through the August

messages and read your long post (and the replies) regarding your

different diagnoses and your concerns. As I read your post, I

realized that you have almost the exact same issues as me...long face,

crooked chin (asymmetry), no shape to my chin (which could be

considered flat, I guess), etc. I was reading along going " That's me! "

(I also haven't read any of your subsequent posts yet, so if I say

something in here you've addressed in another post, just ignore me, hehe.)

I was really scared at first that you were just going to go for the

" quick fix " plastic surgery before looking into jaw surgery first, so

I did a search to see if you'd posted again and saw this post from

today asking about braces.

I'm hoping that based on that you are at least considering having the

maxillofacial surgery? I think that in the long run you'll get the

results you're looking for through the max. surgery instead of

cosmetic. But you should do what makes you happy and what you feel

best about, so don't let anyone else's opinion make you feel bad about

your decisions. It's great that you're doing the research now, and I

hope we're able to help answer your questions in the process. It's

definitely not something to be rushed.

I also have most people tell me that I'm " pretty " , but I've always

been self-conscious about my bottom jaw and chin, and am doing this in

large part for cosmetic reasons, though it is medically necessary for

me as I've just started to experience jaw pain and TMJ pressure I

didn't use to have (and thankfully covered by my insurance). I was

also born in '77, btw, and also went through braces as a teenager,

like you. So we have a *lot* in common.

And though you may feel this is purely cosmetic for now, you might

discover that pain does start happening down the road (as I did), so

if the oral surgeon you talk to feels this procedure is medically

necessary, it's probably better to fix it now before that happens.

I actually found this website over 2 years ago, did hours and hours of

reading here, and spent a lot of time thinking about the procedures

mentioned. I self-diagnosed myself to have an aysmmetry (my bottom

center is several mm's off from my top center), protruding lower jaw

(underbite), crossbite (some lower teeth are in front of the uppers,

some are lined up right under)...and when I finally went to see an

oral surgeon, I was spot on with those, but also found out that I have

other issues I didn't even know about. I finally decided this past

January to see about having surgery done, and am now set up to have it

done on Sept. 29th.

To answer your question, I had my first appointment with the OS in

January, and had braces on before the end of the month. I had my

lower braces put on first in January, because those teeth had gone

crooked in trying to make up for my jaw misalignment and needed more

straightening time. Then in April I had the uppers put on. Really

only my upper molars were crooked, so they didn't need to be on as

long. They originally told me I could anticipate surgery early next

year (12 months), but I'm already ready (8 months), way ahead of

schedule, and I couldn't be happier.

I don't have any really bad pix of me posted (the ones that show how

crooked my face is, hehe) because I toss those, but no matter how much

I like a picture, I always see the crookedness blaring in my face.

Here's one where you can see the " rounded " left side of my face, and

the " straight " right side: (I'm seated)

http://gspence.smugmug.com/photos/26784144-L.jpg. Also this one,

though it's dark, you can kinda see the silhouette of my jaw shape:

http://gspence.smugmug.com/photos/23845673-L.jpg. I can't find any

profiles, because I hate my profile, lol.

As I said, I haven't had my surgery yet, but it's coming up very soon

and I'll be posting pics along the way. Maybe that will help with

your decision. If you want links to see photos of others with long

faces and their results, let me know and I'll be happy to post some

links for you. I found these to be very encouraging in my decision to

go through the braces and the whole shebang.

My husband and I, along with so many others, watched the Extreme

Makeover show, and all the time I was so upset that they were doing

these " quick fix " genioplasty plastic surgeries for people with weak

chins, knowing from what I'd learned here that they weren't really

being " fixed " at all. Jaw problems are very common (as you can tell

by the number of users here) and it's a shame more people don't know

that they can have them fixed properly.

My problem is the opposite of the weak chin, so I didn't think there

was a cosmetic procedure that would make it look better, but I guess

as you found out, there is...or at least there is a procedure doctors

are willing to do that might make a difference.

Anyway, I'm sorry for talking so much...I was just really excited to

read about someone with all the same problems I've been facing all my

life! Feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions about

the pre-op stage. I can answer questions about post-op in about a

month!!

~

(Memphis, TN)