Double Jaw Surgery-Open bite and Recessed Jaw-I'm nervous!!!

[bracefacemama]

Sorry, this is a bit of a long post. I hope you will bear with me. IF you want to skip to the last 2 paragraphs, thats fine too.

Hi.
I’m a 29 year old who just had a baby 5 months ago. I am scheduled to have double jaw surgery July 27th, which is just 7 weeks away. I am still breast feeding though not primarily.
This is is my second go round of braces. I had braces from the age of 11 to age 14 to correct an overbite. I also had my top two pre molars removed at the start of that process.

So the years go by. I had a beautiful smile for about 7 years. Everyone thought so.
I had my wisdom teeth removed at age 19 which seems to be a normal surgery that most adults have done.

And then I moved to southern California for college and endured extremely hot and dry weather, which eventually led me to have sinusitis, mouth breathing, and somewhere along the line, tongue thrusting.
At age 22, I saw a dentist who noticed I was developing an open bite, which I tried to self correct, but was often unsuccessful.
I decided to see an orthodontist just for kicks. He said I would need braces again. I said, screw that.
I moved back up to Northern California, and tried to forget about the open bite and braces.
I had noticed that at times, I had issues chewing food in front and relied mainly on my left side molars. And then I discovered that my right side back molars didn’t quite meet together. And occasionally I would get aches on the left side of my jaw. Sometimes I would choke on foods like burritos, sandwiches, or big meat pieces. Most of the time, they would just get stuck in my esophagus (I could still breathe). This didn’t happen too often, as long as I cut my food with a fork and knife.
I also discovered that I was developing an even worse open bite. Probably 2 mm wide.
Well anyways, at the beginning of 2013, I found out that my family dentist had died, and decided to find a new one. Or at least, get my teeth cleaned somewhere. So I went to one, and upon having x rays and a routine examination, he explained my open bite in more detail and that I had a cross bite too. Then he showed me that I actually had an uneven number of teeth. My orthodontist back in 1998 thought that it was a good idea to have my top pre molars removed in order to make space, but didn’t think it necessary to have the bottoms removed, thus creating a cross bite. Brilliant. He also pointed out in the x ray that I have a mass deep in my gums that could create an issue.
Well, that just made my day.
Around this time, I had had a conversation with a mom from my school, who was wearing braces and she told me that she had had to have jaw surgery to correct an open bite. At the time I had no idea what this would entail, but thought it wise to investigate. So I went to Kaiser’s oral surgery department, to show the oral surgeon the x rays and to get an opinion. He suggested I see an orthodontist, but it would be likely that I would have to have surgery later down the line.
I went to the recommended orthodontist and he strongly encouraged the surgical route.
At the time, I was engaged, and not interested in having braces for my wedding. So a few months later around December of 2013, I met with the orthodontist again and discussed the options.
Option 1- No surgery, partial fix, but wouldn’t solve problem ultimately
Option 2- Surgery, and have to have extractions on the bottom to even out my teeth. Would definitely fix it.
Without too much research on surgery, other than a 6 page pamphlet my orthodontist gave me, I agreed to go whole hog.

A year and a few months later, I get pregnant. My space closure where the extractions had been done wasn’t completely closed, and it seemed like the process was going slower anyway, so I wasn’t too concerned about it.

I continue the braces process during my pregnancy. Then we bought a house, and a few months later, my daughter is born on Christmas day.
I had a minor injury while I was 8 months pregnant I tripped on a step ladder and while trying to catch my self, jerked my left leg causing me to tear my round ligament/groin muscle. I could hardly walk for an entire day, but was able to walk decently well a few days later. Sleeping was a royal pain because I am a left side sleeper and it hurt so much.
Then I started getting eye infections, both viral and bacterial. I had styes, and pink eye and new mom red eyedness. It was just such a pain for about 3 months.
Thank God I didn’t get mastitis in my boobs.

So here we are, less than 2 months from surgery, and I am completely overwhelmed. I have invested so much time and money into this process and I don’t want to not finish the journey. Plus it would be nice to have a good smile and bite properly. My open bite is quite severe. Probably 5 or 6 mm now. Plus, my lower teeth have been retracted so that my lower jaw can be moved forward. Its really unattractive, and functionally difficult to chew, which is nothing new. Luckilly, I do not experience pain when chewing and can swallow okay. I can still sing, which I love to do.
I was told that my molars will eventually get ground down and that could mean implants later on because I put all my pressure chewing in the back.

But at the same time, I have a little baby who will be full on teething by then, probably start having separation anxiety (will she even recognize me after surgery?), and I am still nursing and wont be able to for at least two days (and I’ll have to pump and dump my breast milk in the hospital), and if I am just not up for doing that, may develop mastitis? If I dry up completely, its not the worse thing I guess, but Im concerned that my baby will have a lot of stress because of this. She nurses to soothe herself to sleep and if I am not able to do that, it will be hard on her
Also, this is a MAJOR surgery. I will be completely out under anesthesia. Both my upper and lower jaws will be broken (or to put it in a better term, sawed, cut, and then screwed with titanium plates in a permanent position). Recovery is up to 6 months, with a big risk of nerve damage to my lips and chin. Potentially permanent. Which means, drooling without knowing Im drooling, potential lisping, and inability to enjoy kissing fully. Also, some patients say that their nose changes. Im concerned it will affect my singing ability.

So all this to say, I’m terrified of this process. I want to look good, but is it worth all these risks? And with a little baby at home? I’ve had braces a second time for 2.5 years. I really don’t want to have them on longer than I have to. Im so done with this process.

Advice anyone?!

[shenreice]

I am 2 weeks post op, and I had the worst recovery anyone has ever seen. And I am telling you only 2 weeks later I am so glad I did it! I am breathing better, my bites good, and the pain is almost gone. I am also back to my full energy. Don't worry about the surgery, you will be so happy you did it. The first week will be hard, but it will get better. You will regret not doing it more, after going through this long process. Let me know if you have any questions!

[MagnoliaMama]

So the years go by. I had a beautiful smile for about 7 years. Everyone thought so.

And then I moved to southern California for college and endured extremely hot and dry weather, which eventually led me to have sinusitis, mouth breathing, and somewhere along the line, tongue thrusting.
At age 22, I saw a dentist who noticed I was developing an open bite, which I tried to self correct, but was often unsuccessful.

I also discovered that I was developing an even worse open bite. Probably 2 mm wide.

My open bite is quite severe. Probably 5 or 6 mm now. Plus, my lower teeth have been retracted so that my lower jaw can be moved forward. Its really unattractive, and functionally difficult to chew, which is nothing new.

I would strongly encourage you to do some research on condylar resorption. From what you've written here it seems like a likelihood, in my opinion. If you are in fact dealing with idiopathic condylar resorption then any further treatment should be planned with that in mind. Proceeding with surgery (or even more orthodontic movement) without regard to ICR could be detrimental to your long term health and well-being. If I recall properly, Arnett and Gunson have a nicely written, very thorough discussion about the problem on their website. Please keep us in the loop as you move ahead! Wishing you lots of luck!

[bracefacemama]

[quote="shenreice"]I am 2 weeks post op, and I had the worst recovery anyone has ever seen. And I am telling you only 2 weeks later I am so glad I did it! I am breathing better, my bites good, and the pain is almost gone. I am also back to my full energy. Don't worry about the surgery, you will be so happy you did it. The first week will be hard, but it will get better. You will regret not doing it more, after going through this long process. Let me know if you have any questions![/quote]


I know its a bit soon for you, but have you regained feeling in your lips and chin? Also did you have an open bite as well?

[snapdresser]

a big risk of nerve damage to my lips and chin. Potentially permanent. Which means, drooling without knowing Im drooling, potential lisping, and inability to enjoy kissing fully.

There will almost definitely be some temporary nerve damage. Any permanent numbness would probably be in a small area of your chin. It's highly unlikely that you'd be drooling without knowing you're drooling or lisping, at least not after the first couple weeks or months. You might be psyching yourself out about this. There's a big risk of TEMPORARY nerve damage, which does NOT mean 'drooling without knowing you're drooling, potential lisping.' There's a very SLIGHT risk of more significant numbness or muscle/tissue damage that could cause those things. I'm not going to comment on how enjoyable kissing is with lip numbness but those who have reported it on here seemed to think it was still perfectly enjoyable. If you're psyching yourself out at this point, I can only imagine what a wreck you'll be in the days approaching your surgery date

[daniken9]

I have a very similar story to you and I had double jaw surgery 6 months ago. I am 35 years old. I am glad I did although it was certainly not an easy experience and my recovery has been slow (muscle issues, etc.). My open bite was very slight, with yours being more severe, this is certainly something you want to look into. I would also highly recommend you speak with an Orofacial Myologist. They specialize in proper tongue position and swallowing techniques, mouth breathing correction, lisping, etc. It has been a HUGE help. I'm sorry the timing is so stressful for you. Only you can decide if it will be worth it to do it now. Please feel free to PM me with questions!

[shenreice]

I know its a bit soon for you, but have you regained feeling in your lips and chin? Also did you have an open bite as well?

I am starting to regain feeling, although right now it is mostly just the itching and tingling. Only a very small part of my chin and half my lower lip are numb. I did not have an open bite, I just had an overbite.

[Brooklyn]

so I have to have this whole orthodontic surgery done soon I've been putting it off for almost two years now because I'm so nervous. They keep on telling me that they put braces on after the surgery but my other dentist is saying before. I'm so nervous to get this done any advice

[lfuentes]

Hi OP

How did your surgery go? Were you able to continue nursing you lo? I had a baby in May and am going for a consultation next month. I too am nervous about how the surgery will affect our nursing relationship.