Metal Mouth Message Board

My advice is to seek a 2nd and 3rd opinion with a board certified orthognathic surgeon, and also, your daughter. Surgery always carries some inherent risk, and you may not want to go down that route unless absolutely necessary... 12 is young for surgery, usually around 16-18+ is acceptable if a pers...

I thought I'd share some textbooks that were a big help as I was preparing for jaw surgery almost a year ago. You may be able to find them at your local university library. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: Volume 3 -- Fonseca, Marciani, Turvey (2008) https://www.amazon.com/Oral-Maxillofacial-Surgery-...

The surgical bite mold cannot be cast until 30 days or less from date of surgery, as your teeth will be moving quite a bit before then. The last month or two of your braces treatment is when the surgeon will speak to your orthodontist and go over your case to make sure your teeth are in the correct ...

You should follow the advice of the surgeon and your orthodontist. Your bite/teeth will indeed relapse without proper post-surgical treatment (including arch-bars, retainers (Hawley or palatal bonded), etc.). You may also experience new-found TMJ issues if your teeth relapse with your new jaw-positi...

Very sorry to hear that it turned out poorly. I'm sure there are some very talented surgeons in Colombia (Bogotá most likely) that will be able to do a revision for you, and if you can fly to Miami that might be a good option, even if it's just a consultation. I do not recommend going back to the sa...

How long ago was your surgery? Was it in the last 3 months?

N2Deep, Sorry to hear you're still in the saddle! These things take a long time but I think the pay-off is worth it in the end; a great smile goes a long way towards making someone look and feel more attractive! I just got back from my 6 month post-op visit. Everything going well and I feel essentia...

Yes, a "cant" is one of the more common reasons a person would undergo orthognathic surgery. Your case would be considered moderate. You will most likely need bimaxillary surgery (surgery on both the upper and lower jaw) and a period of braces before, during, and after surgery. I suggest y...

Unless you have a major underbite, the surgeon will likely move your upper jaw forward instead of bringing your lower backward (or a combination of the top forward, and the bottom a little backward). This is to ensure you still have good mandibular projection/definition post-op. Please don't get any...

Four weeks is still extremely early in the process and you're still very swollen judging by your pictures. Most of the swelling will be along the osteotomy lines (toward the back of your lower jaw and on either side of your nose), which explains the prominence and visible flaring. My midline was som...

I strongly recommend you consult another orthodontist before getting teeth extracted. While it maybe true in your case that the teeth need to come out (e.g. if you have an open bite with severe crowding and a narrow palate), it's getting rarer and rarer for orthodontists to extract teeth and I would...

Looking great Mojo, that first pic of your teeth is so funny to me for some reason! :-* I imagine that people must think I'm on some kind of crazy drugs when they see me massaging my face or using my fingers to gently stretch open my mouth (let alone while trying to eat a sandwich). This Saturday is...

Mojo, I'm writing this from the gym on my second day back: I could only do 20 push-ups and isolated bench machine at 70lbs for 20 reps. The rest of my exercises were similarly very light. The weakness sucks, especially since I used to workout every other day and put on good size (lost 20lbs since su...

The arch bars may move your teeth a little but your occlusion should return to normal a few weeks after having them removed. Residual swelling may also play a part. I'm not sure about occlusal discrepancy after IMF screws but I assume it's similar. I just saw my surgeon for my 7th week post-op visit...

Best of luck!

I recommend you join the latest "Surgery Buddies" thread (June/July 2018) and post about your particular case. It helps to have people who are also going through the same thing at the same time as you for support and to ask questions.