Irate Oral Surgeon

[BracedVeryLate]

I haven't posted in so long, now two in a day.

I will try to make this short.

1) Got lower wisdom teeth pulled one year ago.

2) IMMEDIATELY my cheeks sunk in - I used to have a round face. I have photos, one day = round face, next day= thin old-looking triangle face. I thought it was due to lower jaw swelling, and I have been waiting for things to normalize. I am trying to be patient, but in photos, I look skeletal. I still look weird and my face is asymmetrical.

3) For another reason, I was at the surgeon's today. I told him about my facial changes and he went a little nutty. He was so defensive. He said there is absolutely no way wisdom tooth removal can change the shape of my face and there is absolutely no medical literature to ever suggest it and that in all his years of oral surgery, it's just NEVER happened. He used the word NEVER about 20 times. He went from this reserved surgeon-type guy to a very aggressive... well... jerk. I was stunned. He told me my face looks fine and that I am very pretty. Gee, thanks!

Now, I am a pretty decent patient, I don't normally complain, and I think most of my posts have been positive. I wasn't accusing him of anything, just wondering what happened, and if I might get my old face back again someday. My ortho, a woman, sees the difference too, but she's not sure what caused it. She is going to try to pull my lower and upper last molars outwards to try to help me.

This surgeon is supposed to do an implant for me next year, but, now, my gosh, I don't want to go back!!!

thanks for listenening!!!!!

[lizard]

I don't blame you. Just remember, you're paying good money for this and if your orthodontist agrees with you, well obviously there is something to make a fuss about. There's nothing wrong with asking questions and you shouldn't be made to feel like you're doing something wrong by asking.

[SimplySpiffy]

Wow. It sounds to me like maybe the oral surgeon has a chip on his shoulder. Maybe this is a common complaint and he's sick of hearing it or maybe he assumed you were going to make a huge deal about it from a financial standpoint. Or, maybe he is a power tripping kind of guy who doesn't like to be questioned. It's possible he may have just taken something you said as offensive, but if you were as nice as possible about the situation, that doesn't seem likely.

Whatever the case may be, you shouldn't feel like a victim when you ask a legitimate question about a treatment you are forking over thousands of dollars to have done. He could very well have discussed his doubts in a way that is considerate and even helpful. You want to be sure to have an open relationship with anybody who is seeing over any medical treatments that you have, and if you can't ask questions, then that probably isn't the doc for you.

If you haven't already told your orthodontist about the surgeon's reaction to your question, maybe you should just to get her take on it. Perhaps she can suggest a new oral surgeon for you that she knows to be much more considerate (orthos and oral surgeons should be able to openly discuss treatments together too, you know). It sounds like she is at least doing all she can to help you out, which means you've found a good orthodontist at any rate! Good luck!