New and confused in New Orleans...

[Guest guest]

And so very happy to have stumbled upon this group.

My jaw has been messed up for years - one side of my face is longer

than the other which puts pressure on the shorter jaw and leaves a

ringing in the longer side ear. I have been putting off treatment

due to lack of money and fear of post sugery pain/ wires/ looking

stupid; but finally I have decided I have to do something. So I go

to the dentist, start to get my teeth looked at etc and then Katrina

hits.

Long story short I have a million questions about what the treatment

procedure is and how long the healing time lasts and how much the

surgery costs and - well, no one to ask. Nothing is open yet down

here.

So, for anyone who has a similar story as mine - the right side of

my jaw is approx 1/4 inch longer the my left. I need surgery to fix

this and then braces to straighten my teeth. How long is the

surgery usually? How painful is it? (i've had my deviated septum

fixed years ago and the post op pain was almost unbearable!!!) Do

they wire you shut? For how long? Can one use the invisalign braces

to correct the bite? How much did you pay? How much work did you

miss? Was your face brused? Scars on the jaw? WAS IT WORTH IT?

I admit, it would be nice to see a photo of my face where I didn't

look freaky.

Sorry this post is so long. Thanks for your help!!!