I'm glad that I found this site...I've been reading it quite a bit in the past week as I was officially braced last Wednesday, 12/2. One guy that I read described it as "the dental equivalent of walking on the moon." So true...not exactly painful, but super awkward and feels bizarre to be sure!
I have struggled with a Class III maloclussion for a long time. I never had any speech problems before I was about 14. Pretty suddenly, I began to have some trouble enunciating certain words a little after the onset of puberty. It took me a few years to make the connection that my jaw started to grow, my underbite got markedly worse, and that was why I was having so much speech trouble. Even though my underbite is significant (I believe my surgeon measured it at 12 mm), it came about somewhat gradually.
Once I made the connection, I mentioned it to my dentist...probably about 4 years ago. She said that I would almost certainly need surgery to correct it. I was okay with that...but then she said braces too! Well, as I am sure is common, it took me some time to come to terms with that.
I went to see a few dentists, even an orthodonist, over the past couple of years to get more info. I wasn't thriled with any of the responses that they gave me. In August of this year, I finally decided that something had to be done. I was moving to Boston at the time, and made an appt to speak with an ortho. After we met, I went through the hoops and had the surgery approved by my health insurance, made the down payment, and had the braces put on. I'll attach a pretty gnarly picture of my bite with the clear braces.
So far, no complaints, although being a 23 year old guy in braces isn't exactly fun. Meh, I've got bigger problems haha.
Has anyone else used Mahoub Rizkallah as an ortho in Somerville MA? I've heard nothing but good things, and he seems pretty confident that he can get me ready for surgery by May 2010. Sounds pretty ambitious to me, but we'll see.
