I have the exact same problem. I have TMJ pain and slight facial asymmetry. The right side of my face is 4mm longer than the left. My discrepancy isn't nearly as bad as some victims of asymmetry but it's still enough to notice and cause pain and discomfort in my bite and TMJ's. I am planning of having surgery sometime this year to correct the canted asymmetry by Dr. Arnett in Santa Barbara, CA. I hear he is one of the best in the business along with Dr. Wolford in Austin, TX. If anyone has had surgery to fix an asymmetry and also had TMJ issues, please respond with your insights. Also, if there is anyone who has had surgery performed by Dr. Arnett, I would love to hear about your experience and how you are post op.
Thanks, Ryan
No time and space for braces, but surgery necessary
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WhiteLurcher
- Posts: 173
- Joined: Mon Jun 26, 2006 12:48 pm
- Location: Near Glasgow, Central Scotland
Hi
I had a lot of pain and locking in my jaws until about 4 1/2 years ago and after various tests and scans was eventually diagnosed with Condylar Hyperplasia, mines was on my right side. I had surgery, called a High condylar shave, where they remove part of the condylar bone. This is done when tests show the bone is still growing and should stop the growth. I then had to wait a year to see if it had worked.
Now pre-chop my bite was slightly open, though it didn't effect me enough to notice it, apart from the pain that had developed over a couple of years. I was 30 at the time of my first chop. After that operation my open bite increased dramatically and I now had a good size overbite to boot! So after the year I agreed to don braces and follow the Orthognatic surgery route to hopefully gain a pain-free functional bite. Now aged 34 and 7 months post-chop, I am pain-free and my bite has improved. All in all for me it has been 7 years so far and mostly it has flown by. At least for me it has all been free on the good old NHS.
But basically NHS or not I'm sorry but there is no quick fix for this condition, although some folks on here have skipped the first operation and had an all-in-one surgery to fix both bite and asymmetry. I't still takes much longer than 2 months.
Good luck what ever you decide!
I had a lot of pain and locking in my jaws until about 4 1/2 years ago and after various tests and scans was eventually diagnosed with Condylar Hyperplasia, mines was on my right side. I had surgery, called a High condylar shave, where they remove part of the condylar bone. This is done when tests show the bone is still growing and should stop the growth. I then had to wait a year to see if it had worked.
Now pre-chop my bite was slightly open, though it didn't effect me enough to notice it, apart from the pain that had developed over a couple of years. I was 30 at the time of my first chop. After that operation my open bite increased dramatically and I now had a good size overbite to boot! So after the year I agreed to don braces and follow the Orthognatic surgery route to hopefully gain a pain-free functional bite. Now aged 34 and 7 months post-chop, I am pain-free and my bite has improved. All in all for me it has been 7 years so far and mostly it has flown by. At least for me it has all been free on the good old NHS.
But basically NHS or not I'm sorry but there is no quick fix for this condition, although some folks on here have skipped the first operation and had an all-in-one surgery to fix both bite and asymmetry. I't still takes much longer than 2 months.
Good luck what ever you decide!
Last edited by WhiteLurcher on Tue Dec 25, 2007 1:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
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sweetpea, and everyone else who had a similar problem:
one of the orthodontists said, that i could CHOOSE, if i wanted the right side to be shortened, or the left side to be lengthened.
how was it in your case?
what exactly did they do on surgery?
does anybody know, if its possible with the same operation, also to advance upper and lower jaw forward?
i beleave they are underdeveloped, looking from the side, i have a receding chin, but couldnt move forward only my lower jaw, because my teeth do "match" now. my jaw has stopped growing with at least 12, i think thats a little early, and then only my right jaw kept on growing.
is this last one a very complicated surgery, to advance both upper and lower jaw?
greetings, Stephany, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!;)
one of the orthodontists said, that i could CHOOSE, if i wanted the right side to be shortened, or the left side to be lengthened.
how was it in your case?
what exactly did they do on surgery?
does anybody know, if its possible with the same operation, also to advance upper and lower jaw forward?
i beleave they are underdeveloped, looking from the side, i have a receding chin, but couldnt move forward only my lower jaw, because my teeth do "match" now. my jaw has stopped growing with at least 12, i think thats a little early, and then only my right jaw kept on growing.
is this last one a very complicated surgery, to advance both upper and lower jaw?
greetings, Stephany, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!;)
oh and i forgot about that one:
i've read a lot about SARPE here in this forum. its always done on the upper jaw, right?
because i have the problem, that my teeth dont match in the back, because my lower jaw is narrower then the upper.
does anybody know if this especific problem can be corrected also by braces only, pushing them out, or is there a surgery for this too?
or will it maybe be resolved by lengthening the shorter side of my jaw?
i know there arent general answer to those questions, and im gonna know a lot more about all this when ill see the surgeon.
but im just so curious about all this, and also other cases with similar problems...
before finding this forum i was scared to death about all this, of not waking up from surgery, and especially about the "necrosis"-part!!!
but now that i've read a lot of stories, it seems its not THAT horrible, and if others survived, i will too!
greetings, Stephany
i've read a lot about SARPE here in this forum. its always done on the upper jaw, right?
because i have the problem, that my teeth dont match in the back, because my lower jaw is narrower then the upper.
does anybody know if this especific problem can be corrected also by braces only, pushing them out, or is there a surgery for this too?
or will it maybe be resolved by lengthening the shorter side of my jaw?
i know there arent general answer to those questions, and im gonna know a lot more about all this when ill see the surgeon.
but im just so curious about all this, and also other cases with similar problems...
before finding this forum i was scared to death about all this, of not waking up from surgery, and especially about the "necrosis"-part!!!
but now that i've read a lot of stories, it seems its not THAT horrible, and if others survived, i will too!
greetings, Stephany
Hi Stephany
I think that you will be much happier when you've spoken to an expert about your specific case, because it's not easy to answer some of your questions without seeing you, and being a real professional.
You asked about whether you can make one side shorter or the other longer, well that would depend on how big the discrepancy is.
In my case, with such a big difference, they made one side shorter, the other side longer, both the top and bottom jaws were shifted to make them level, they shaved off some of the bone on the longer side too, along the jawline. They also did a genioplasty to move my chin back to the middle, and make it a bit smaller. They are wonderful these surgeons! And don't start worrying about things going wrong, it's a very safe and common procedure.
I think that you will be much happier when you've spoken to an expert about your specific case, because it's not easy to answer some of your questions without seeing you, and being a real professional.
You asked about whether you can make one side shorter or the other longer, well that would depend on how big the discrepancy is.
In my case, with such a big difference, they made one side shorter, the other side longer, both the top and bottom jaws were shifted to make them level, they shaved off some of the bone on the longer side too, along the jawline. They also did a genioplasty to move my chin back to the middle, and make it a bit smaller. They are wonderful these surgeons! And don't start worrying about things going wrong, it's a very safe and common procedure.
Thanks for your answers, it's just so alleviative not to be alone with my problem anymore, and get so much infos and real-experiances about this type of surgeries...
i have to admit, i'm just crazy about being able to do that surgery, i cant wait to have my appointment...
you know, i know how hard it is with my circumstances, to have it done, but i cant and won't loose my hope, and i definitely think it is possible to do it, only the results wouldn't be guaranteed to turn out well, as much as they would be with perfect teeth aligning first.
thats sure already to me, but i would be ready to take the risk, because it is my only chance to get rid of the physical and psychological pain, within years and years, maybe a very long time, and my pains get worth and worth, on mind and body.
so what else can i do then try?
ill write the results from the appointment when ill have them, until then, every info and experience is very appreciated,
i wish you all very happy holidays!! greetings, stephany
i have to admit, i'm just crazy about being able to do that surgery, i cant wait to have my appointment...
you know, i know how hard it is with my circumstances, to have it done, but i cant and won't loose my hope, and i definitely think it is possible to do it, only the results wouldn't be guaranteed to turn out well, as much as they would be with perfect teeth aligning first.
thats sure already to me, but i would be ready to take the risk, because it is my only chance to get rid of the physical and psychological pain, within years and years, maybe a very long time, and my pains get worth and worth, on mind and body.
so what else can i do then try?
ill write the results from the appointment when ill have them, until then, every info and experience is very appreciated,
i wish you all very happy holidays!! greetings, stephany
hey eveybody,
i went to see the surgeon and orthodontist today. the surgeon says, basically its not impossible to complete the surgery within the timeframe i gave them. but first of all, they have to make a scintigraphy(is it called like that in english?:)), where they can see if my right jaw bone is still growing. that really would be a nightmare for me!!!
if so, i would have to go through a surgery first to stop that growth.
if it has stopped already, they could start the calculatings and simulations of the surgery, only then they would be able to see, if its possible to perform the surgery under these circumstances.
if its physically not possible right now, then well, i have to accept it!;)
what else could i do.
but in that case, it wouldn't bother me that much, what really would have bothered me, is if i wouldnt find a surgeon who at least trys to find a possibility...
greetings, stephany
i went to see the surgeon and orthodontist today. the surgeon says, basically its not impossible to complete the surgery within the timeframe i gave them. but first of all, they have to make a scintigraphy(is it called like that in english?:)), where they can see if my right jaw bone is still growing. that really would be a nightmare for me!!!
if so, i would have to go through a surgery first to stop that growth.
if it has stopped already, they could start the calculatings and simulations of the surgery, only then they would be able to see, if its possible to perform the surgery under these circumstances.
if its physically not possible right now, then well, i have to accept it!;)
what else could i do.
but in that case, it wouldn't bother me that much, what really would have bothered me, is if i wouldnt find a surgeon who at least trys to find a possibility...
greetings, stephany
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WhiteLurcher
- Posts: 173
- Joined: Mon Jun 26, 2006 12:48 pm
- Location: Near Glasgow, Central Scotland
Hi WhiteLurcher!
thanx for your wishes! im already really nervous about the scintigraphy test outcome...
do you know, if its garuanteed that the growth stoppes after the treatment where they take out a part from the bone which grows?
did you have to wait a long time for seeing, if growth has stopped after`?
and, maybe a stupid question:
when i look at pictures from 2 years ago and dont see any changes in my right jaw bone... has it probably stopped?
in other words, where the differences in your case visible after two years?
greetings, stephany
thanx for your wishes! im already really nervous about the scintigraphy test outcome...
do you know, if its garuanteed that the growth stoppes after the treatment where they take out a part from the bone which grows?
did you have to wait a long time for seeing, if growth has stopped after`?
and, maybe a stupid question:
when i look at pictures from 2 years ago and dont see any changes in my right jaw bone... has it probably stopped?
in other words, where the differences in your case visible after two years?
greetings, stephany
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WhiteLurcher
- Posts: 173
- Joined: Mon Jun 26, 2006 12:48 pm
- Location: Near Glasgow, Central Scotland
Hi Stephany
There's no guarantee and I had to wait a year after the op to see if it had worked. But that's NHS so I'm not sure if it's standard.
It's not a stupid question but unfortunately I can't answer it. Apart from jaw pain and a shift in my bite, up until the surgeon told me I required an operation I didn't realise there was extra growth on my right side.
But hopefully if nothing seems to have changed for you over the last 2 years it will be good news!
All the best
There's no guarantee and I had to wait a year after the op to see if it had worked. But that's NHS so I'm not sure if it's standard.
It's not a stupid question but unfortunately I can't answer it. Apart from jaw pain and a shift in my bite, up until the surgeon told me I required an operation I didn't realise there was extra growth on my right side.
But hopefully if nothing seems to have changed for you over the last 2 years it will be good news!
All the best
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